Under the Bft franchise agreement, can proceedings related to the agreement be conducted on a class-wide basis?
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)
According to Bft's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are restricted from participating in class action lawsuits against the company. The franchise agreement specifies that all proceedings arising from the agreement or the studio's operations will be conducted on an individual basis, not a class-wide basis.
This means that a Bft franchisee cannot consolidate their legal proceedings with those of other franchisees against Bft. Furthermore, the franchisee waives the right to have any claim brought, heard, or resolved 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 form of class action, and relief is limited to the individual in arbitration. The franchisee also waives the right to seek or obtain any non-individual relief.
However, there is an exception to this waiver. The agreement states that this section does not prevent parties from participating in a class-wide, collective, and/or representative settlement of claims. This implies that while a franchisee cannot initiate or participate in a class action lawsuit, they are not barred from joining a class settlement if Bft agrees to it.
Class action waivers are increasingly common in franchise agreements. They limit a franchisor's exposure to large, costly lawsuits involving multiple franchisees. While they protect the franchisor, these waivers can limit a franchisee's legal options and bargaining power in disputes, as they must pursue claims individually.