What are a Bigfoot Forestry franchisee's obligations upon termination or non-renewal of the franchise agreement?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| PROVISION | SECTIONS IN AGREEMEN T | SUMMARY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a. Length of franchise term | FA: 1 (definition of Term) & 4.1 ADA: 1 (definition of Term) | Term is equal to 10 years. Term expires on the opening date listed in the development schedule for the last Bigfoot Forestry Business you are required to develop. | |
| b. Renewal or extension of the term | THE FRANCHISE RELATIONSHIP | FA: 4.1 & 4.2 ADA: Not Applicable | If you meet our conditions for renewal, you can enter into 2 consecutive successor franchise agreements. Each renewal term is 5 years. The parties may mutually agree to further renewals but neither party is obligated to do so (subject to state law). You may not renew or extend the term of the ADA. |
| PROVISION | SECTIONS IN AGREEMENT | SUMMARY | |
| c. Requirements for you to renew or | FA: 4.1 & 4.2 | You must: not be in default; give us timely notice; sign then-current form of franchise agreement; sign general release (subject to state law); pay renewal fee; and upgrade Technology Systems, operating equipment and tools to conform to our then-current standards. | |
| extend | ADA: Not Applicable | If you renew, you may be required to sign a contract with materially different terms and conditions than the original contract. You may not renew or extend the term of the ADA. | |
| d. Termination by | FA: 20.1 | You can terminate if we default and fail to timely cure. | |
| you | ADA: Not Applicable | You can terminate under any grounds permitted by law. | |
| e. Termination by | FA: 20.3 | We can terminate without cause if you provide your written consent. | |
| us without cause | ADA: 8.2 | ||
| f. Termination by | FA: 20.2 | We can terminate if you default. | |
| us with cause | ADA: 8.1 | ||
| g. "Cause" defined - curable defaults | FA: 20.2 ADA: 8.1 | You have the following cure periods: (a) 24 hours for health or safety hazards; (b) 10 days for financial defaults; (c) 20 days for loss of a required license or permit; and (d) 30 days for any other default (other than a default described below under "non-curable defaults"). You have 30 days to cure any default, other than defaults described below under "non-curable defaults". | |
| h. "Cause" defined - non-curable defaults | FA: 20.2 ADA: 8.1 | The following defaults cannot be cured: insolvency, bankruptcy or seizure of assets; failure to successfully complete training; failure to open in timely manner; abandonment; conviction of certain crimes or subject of certain administrative actions; violation of material law; act that may adversely affect reputation of System or Marks; material nd underreporting of Gross Sales misrepresentations; 2 by 2% or more; unauthorized Transfers; unauthorized use of our intellectual property; breach of brand protection covenant, legal compliance representation or Franchise Owner Agreement; failure to notify us of a matter described in §15.6; 3 or more default notices in a 12-month period; or termination of any other agreement between you (or your affiliate) and us (or our affiliate) due to your default. However, termination of an ADA due to breach of the development schedule is not grounds for termination of any Franchise Agreement that is otherwise in good standing. If we terminate a franchise agreement due to your default, we may terminate the ADA without opportunity to cure. | |
| i. Your obligations on termination/ non-renewal | FA: 21.1 ADA: Not Applicable | Obligations include: remove all trade dress (including removal of all decals, references to the Marks and distinct color schemes from operating equipment and vehicles); cease use of intellectual property; return Manual and branded materials; assign telephone numbers, listings and domain names; assign customer information, contracts, files and accounts; cancel fictitious names; comply with data retention policies; and pay amounts due (also see "r", below). The ADA does not impose any post-term obligations on you. | |
| j. | FA: 19.1 | ||
| Assignment of | |||
| contract by us | ADA: 7.1 | No restriction on our right to assign. | |
| k. |
Source: Item 17 — RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (FDD pages 33–36)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bigfoot Forestry FDD, upon termination or non-renewal of the Franchise Agreement, a franchisee has several obligations. These include removing all trade dress from operating equipment and vehicles, which means taking off decals, references to the Bigfoot Forestry marks, and any distinctive color schemes. The franchisee must also cease using any of Bigfoot Forestry's intellectual property.
Additionally, the franchisee is required to return the Brand Standards Manual and any other branded materials provided by Bigfoot Forestry. They must assign all telephone numbers, listings, and domain names associated with the business to Bigfoot Forestry. Customer information, contracts, files, and accounts must also be assigned to the franchisor. The franchisee needs to cancel any fictitious names used for the business and comply with Bigfoot Forestry's data retention policies.
Finally, the franchisee is obligated to pay any outstanding amounts due to Bigfoot Forestry. It's important to note that these obligations apply to the Franchise Agreement (FA) and not to the Area Development Agreement (ADA), as the ADA does not impose any post-term obligations on the franchisee. The franchisee must also provide satisfactory evidence of compliance with these obligations within 30 days after the effective date of termination or non-renewal.