Who are the Byrider Franchising Parties named in the arbitration demand by the former Connecticut franchisees?
Byrider Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
chise agreement, H. Jeffrey Baker, initiated an arbitration demand against Byrider Franchising, J.D. Byrider Systems, LLC, Byrider Holding Corp., Brad M. Malott, Michael K. Maenhout, Jeffrey B. Higgins, Jack J. Humbert, Thomas L. Welter, Jeffrey L. Anderson, Shannon Aldridge, Stephen J. Peterson, Jesse Rogers, Keoni Schwartz, Kevin Mason, and other former employees (collectively, the "Byrider Franchising Parties") with the Boston administrative office of JAMS. The arbitration demand alleges that certain Byrider Franchising Parties fraudulently induced claimants to (i) take certain actions after entering into their franchise agreement with Byrider Franchising, including select and develop a site for the dealership and enter into lender agreements and (ii) later enter into a mutual termination agreement of the franchise agreement. Claimants also allege that Byrider Franchising breached the franchise agreement by providing insufficient training and failing to hire qualified candidates for the franchised dealership. They further allege that suggested suppliers failed to provide product and that another nearby Byrider Franchising franchisee encroached on customer sales. Claimants assert claims for fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, improper termination, and violations of Indiana, Rhode Island, and Connecticut franchise investment and/or relationship statutes and Indiana and Rhode Island deceptive trade practices statutes. Claimants seek unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, arbitration costs, expenses, attorneys' fees, and pre- and post-judgment interest. On September 1, 2017, Byrider Franchising asserted a counterclaim against the claimants for breach of the franchise agreement and personal guarantee arising out of their failure to operate the franchised dealership for the franchise agreement's full twenty-year term. Byrider Franchising seeks damages of at least $2 million, and all of the Byrider Franchising Parties seek their costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred by
Source: Item 3 — Litigation (FDD pages 15–19)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Byrider's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an arbitration demand was initiated by Jeffrey Baker, former franchisee of a Byrider dealership in Branford, Connecticut. The demand names several parties as the "Byrider Franchising Parties." These include Byrider Franchising, J.D. Byrider Systems, LLC, and Byrider Holding Corp. as well as individuals Brad M. Malott, Michael K. Maenhout, Jeffrey B. Higgins, Jack J. Humbert, Thomas L. Welter, Jeffrey L. Anderson, Shannon Aldridge, Stephen J. Peterson, Jesse Rogers, Keoni Schwartz, and Kevin Mason. The demand also includes other former employees, who are collectively referred to as the "Byrider Franchising Parties."
The former franchisees allege that these Byrider Franchising Parties fraudulently induced them into taking certain actions after entering into their franchise agreement. These actions included selecting and developing a site for the dealership, entering into lender agreements, and later entering into a mutual termination agreement of the franchise agreement. The claimants also allege that Byrider breached the franchise agreement by providing insufficient training and failing to hire qualified candidates for the franchised dealership. They further allege that suggested suppliers failed to provide product and that another nearby Byrider franchisee encroached on customer sales.
The claimants are seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages, arbitration costs, expenses, attorneys' fees, and pre- and post-judgment interest. Byrider Franchising has asserted a counterclaim against the claimants for breach of the franchise agreement and personal guarantee, seeking damages of at least $2 million, plus costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees.