Can an arbitrator award relief to anyone but the individual in arbitration related to the Bft agreement?
Bft Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ALL PROCEEDINGS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT, OR THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS, WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT A CLASS-WIDE BASIS, AND THAT ANY PROCEEDING BETWEEN DEVELOPER, DEVELOPER'S GUARANTORS AND FRANCHISOR OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, OWNERS, OR EMPLOYEES MAY NOT BE CONSOLIDATED WITH ANY OTHER PROCEEDING BETWEEN FRANCHISOR AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY.
The Parties expressly waive the right to have any claim or dispute brought, heard, administered, resolved, or arbitrated as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative action, and neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider shall have any authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative action, or to award relief to anyone but the individual in arbitration.
The Parties also expressly waive the right to seek, recover, or obtain any non-individual relief.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Agreement, this Section does not prevent the Parties from participating in a class wide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims.
Source: Item 17 — RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (FDD pages 57–66)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bft's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the parties involved in the franchise agreement expressly waive the right to have any claim or dispute brought, heard, administered, resolved, or arbitrated as a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, and/or representative action. This means that neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider has the authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any such class-wide action.
The agreement explicitly states that relief can only be awarded to the individual in arbitration. This provision ensures that any disputes will be handled on a one-on-one basis, preventing franchisees from banding together to pursue collective action against Bft.
Furthermore, the parties also waive the right to seek, recover, or obtain any non-individual relief. However, this section does not prevent the parties from participating in a class-wide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims, meaning that while arbitration must be individual, settlements can be broader. This clause aims to limit Bft's exposure to large-scale arbitration claims while still allowing for potential settlements involving multiple parties.