What is the 'Restricted Period' for a Bigfoot Forestry franchisee?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- (b) Unfair Competition. You may not engage in any Prohibited Activities at any time: (i) that you are (or your spouse is) an Owner; or (ii) during the Restricted Period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may have an interest in a Competing Business during the Restricted Period as long as the Competing Business does not provide competitive services at job sites located in the Restricted Territory. If you engage in any Prohibited Activity during the Restricted Period (other than having an interest in a
Competing Business permitted by this Section) your Restricted Period will be extended by the period of time during which you engaged in the Prohibited Activity. Any such extension of time will not constitute a waiver of your breach or impair any of our rights or remedies relating to your breach. For purposes of clarity, you remain bound by any non-competition covenants in other Definitive Agreements that remain in effect for a period of time that extends beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period under this Agreement, and the expiration of the Restricted Period under this Agreement does not in any way diminish your obligation to comply with such other covenants.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 42–162)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bigfoot Forestry's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is subject to certain restrictions during the 'Restricted Period'. Specifically, the franchisee may not engage in any 'Prohibited Activities' during this time. However, the franchisee is allowed to have an interest in a Competing Business during the Restricted Period as long as the Competing Business does not provide competitive services at job sites located in the Restricted Territory.
If a Bigfoot Forestry franchisee engages in any Prohibited Activity during the Restricted Period (other than having an interest in a Competing Business permitted), the Restricted Period will be extended by the period of time during which the franchisee engaged in the Prohibited Activity. The extension of time will not constitute a waiver of the franchisee's breach or impair any of Bigfoot Forestry's rights or remedies relating to the breach.
It is important to note that the expiration of the Restricted Period under the Franchise Agreement does not diminish the franchisee's obligation to comply with any non-competition covenants in other Definitive Agreements that remain in effect for a period of time that extends beyond the expiration of the Restricted Period under the Franchise Agreement. The FDD does not specify the length of the restricted period. A prospective franchisee should ask the franchisor about the length of the restricted period.