Does the Bft franchise agreement include a waiver of class actions?
Bft Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 16.9 WAIVER OF CLASS ACTIONS. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT ALL PROCEEDINGS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT, OR THE OPERATIONS OF THE STUDIO, WILL BE CONDUCTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT A CLASS-WIDE BASIS, AND THAT ANY PROCEEDING BETWEEN FRANCHISEE, FRANCHISEE'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 classwide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 79–265)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
Yes, according to the 2025 Bft Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement includes a waiver of class actions. Specifically, it states that all proceedings related to the agreement or the studio's operations will be conducted on an individual basis, not as part of a class-wide action. This means a franchisee cannot participate in a class action lawsuit against Bft.
The agreement also specifies that proceedings between the franchisee, their guarantors, and Bft cannot be consolidated with any other proceedings between Bft and a third party. Furthermore, the parties 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. Neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider has the authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any such action, or to award relief to anyone but the individual in arbitration. The parties also waive the right to seek, recover, or obtain any non-individual relief.
However, the Bft franchise agreement does state that this waiver does not prevent parties from participating in a class-wide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims. This exception allows franchisees to participate in settlements even if they cannot initiate or join a class action lawsuit. This type of clause is increasingly common in franchise agreements to manage litigation costs and risks for the franchisor.