Are proceedings related to the Bft agreement conducted on an individual or class-wide basis?
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, proceedings arising from the agreement will be conducted on an individual basis, not a class-wide basis. The agreement specifies that any proceeding between the developer, their guarantors, and Bft, including their affiliates, officers, owners, or employees, cannot be consolidated with any other proceeding between Bft and a third party. This means a franchisee cannot join a class action suit against Bft.
Furthermore, the parties involved in the Bft 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. The agreement clarifies that neither an arbitrator nor an arbitration provider has the authority to hear, arbitrate, or administer any form of class or representative action, and relief can only be awarded to the individual in arbitration. This reinforces that all legal actions must be pursued individually.
Additionally, the parties waive the right to seek or recover any non-individual relief. However, the agreement also states that these restrictions do not prevent parties from participating in a class-wide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims. This suggests that while lawsuits and arbitrations must be pursued individually, participation in settlements involving a larger group is still permitted. This clause aims to prevent franchisees from initiating or joining class action lawsuits against Bft, while still allowing them to benefit from potential class-wide settlements.