What constitutes 'just cause' for exercising remedies against a Bumper Man franchisee?
Bumper_Man Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The occurrence of any of the following will adversely and substantially affect the interests of Franchisor and will be deemed an Event of Default constituting just cause for exercising any of the remedies set forth herein:
- (a) Franchisor may terminate this Agreement upon delivery to Franchisee of Notice as a result of the occurrence of any of the following Events of Default and Franchisee's failure to cure such Event of Default within the cure period described below, if any, and absent a cure period, immediately upon Franchisor's Notice to Franchisee:
- (i) Franchisee (or any of its Principals or Affiliates) has made any material misrepresentation or omission in connection with this Agreement;
- (ii) Franchisee fails to begin operating the Bumper Business as of the Commencement Date, and fails to cure such default within 30 days after Notice of such Event of Default is delivered to Franchisee;
- (iii) Franchisee abandons or fails actively to operate the Bumper Business for five or more Business Days unless the Bumper Business has been closed for a purpose Franchisor has approved in writing or because of an Event of Force Majeure;
- (iv) Franchisee fails to submit invoices to Franchisor for processing for seven or more consecutive Business Days without Franchisor's prior approval;
- (v) Franchisee surrenders or transfers Control of the operation of the Business without Franchisor's prior written consent;
- (vi) Franchisee (or any of its Principals or Affiliates) is or has been held liable or convicted by a court of law, pleads or has pleaded no contest to, a felony, indictable offense or other unlawful act, engages in any dishonest or unethical conduct or otherwise engages in any act or conduct which Franchisor believes will materially and adversely affect the reputation of the Bumper Business, any other Bumper Man business or the goodwill associated with Marks;
- (vii) Franchisee's misuse or unauthorized use of the Marks, including without limitation Franchisee's misuse or unauthorized use of the Marks on its Social Media pages or other Internet site, or registration of a domain name incorporating the Marks;
- (viii) Franchisee (or any of its Principals or Affiliates) makes an unauthorized Transfer pursuant to Section 16;
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 45–180)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bumper Man's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, several events can constitute 'just cause' for the franchisor to exercise remedies against a franchisee. These events are considered Events of Default that adversely and substantially affect the interests of Bumper Man.
Specifically, just cause includes instances where the franchisee or its principals make material misrepresentations or omissions related to the franchise agreement. It also covers failing to begin operating the Bumper Business by the Commencement Date without curing the failure within 30 days of notice. Abandoning the business or failing to actively operate it for five or more business days, unless approved by Bumper Man in writing or due to a Force Majeure event, also constitutes just cause.
Further events that constitute just cause include failing to submit invoices for processing for seven or more consecutive business days without prior approval, surrendering control of the business without written consent, or engaging in any dishonest or unethical conduct that could harm the reputation of Bumper Man. Misuse of Bumper Man's marks, including on social media or through domain name registration, and unauthorized transfers of the franchise also constitute just cause for the franchisor to exercise remedies.