Under the Bigfoot Forestry franchise agreement, is each section of the agreement severable?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- **24.3.
Severability**.
Each section of this Agreement (and portion thereof) is severable.
If applicable Law imposes mandatory terms that conflict with this Agreement, the terms required by such Law shall govern to the extent of the inconsistency.
If a court or arbitrator concludes any promise or covenant in this Agreement is unreasonable or unenforceable, we or the court or arbitrator may modify such promise or covenant to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 42–162)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bigfoot Forestry's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, each section of the franchise agreement is severable. This means that if a court finds any part of the agreement to be unreasonable or unenforceable, the rest of the agreement will still remain in effect.
This provision protects the overall validity of the franchise agreement. If one particular clause is deemed invalid, it doesn't automatically void the entire contract. This is a fairly standard clause in franchise agreements.
The FDD states that if any applicable law imposes mandatory terms conflicting with the agreement, the terms required by law will govern to the extent of the inconsistency. Furthermore, if a court or arbitrator finds any promise or covenant in the agreement unreasonable or unenforceable, Bigfoot Forestry or the court/arbitrator can modify the promise or covenant to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.
For a prospective franchisee, this severability clause offers some assurance that the entire agreement won't be nullified due to a problem with a single provision. It also allows for modifications to specific clauses to ensure enforceability, which can be beneficial in the long run.