What is the impact of the Federal Arbitration Act on Beverly Anns Cookie franchise agreements in Indiana?
Beverly_Anns_Cookie Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The "Summary" column in Item 17.v. of the FDD is deleted and the following is inserted in its place:
Litigation regarding Franchise Agreement in Indiana; other litigation in Franchisor's Choice of Law State. This language has been included in this Franchise Disclosure Document as a condition to registration. The Franchisor and the Franchisee do not agree with the above language and believe that each of the provisions of the Franchise Agreement, including all venue provisions, is fully enforceable. The Franchisor and the Franchisee intend to fully enforce all of the provisions of the Franchise Agreement and all other documents signed by them, including but not limited to, all venue, choice-of-law, arbitration provisions and other dispute avoidance and resolution provisions and to rely on federal pre-emption under the Federal Arbitration Act.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 57–235)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Beverly Anns Cookie Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement specifies that litigation regarding the franchise agreement in Indiana will occur in Indiana, while other litigation will occur in the franchisor's choice of law state. However, Beverly Anns Cookie and the franchisee do not agree with this language and believe that all provisions of the franchise agreement, including venue, are fully enforceable.
Beverly Anns Cookie intends to enforce all provisions of the franchise agreement and other signed documents, including venue, choice-of-law, arbitration, and other dispute resolution provisions. They plan to rely on federal pre-emption under the Federal Arbitration Act. This means that Beverly Anns Cookie believes the Federal Arbitration Act would supersede any conflicting state laws regarding arbitration, potentially ensuring that arbitration clauses in their franchise agreements are upheld and enforced as written.
In essence, while Indiana law might have certain stipulations, Beverly Anns Cookie aims to leverage the Federal Arbitration Act to ensure that disputes are resolved through arbitration as per the franchise agreement, irrespective of state-specific regulations that might otherwise apply. This approach seeks to provide a consistent and predictable legal framework for dispute resolution, favoring arbitration as the primary method.