Under what conditions will Byrider Franchising Partners indemnify a Byrider franchisee for claims against the franchisee's business?
Byrider Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must indemnify Byrider Franchising Partners for any claims or costs incurred by Byrider Franchising Partners in defending claims against your Business. Likewise, Byrider Franchising Partners will indemnify you for claims against you and/or your Business that arise from your authorized use of the Marks or from Byrider Franchising Partners' gross negligence or willful misconduct or from any mandatory specification, standard or procedure contained in the Manual that is determined to be unlawful. As long as you give timely notice of these claims to Byrider Franchising Partners, have complied with the Franchise Agreement and Byrider Franchising Partners has participated in the proceeding as it deems necessary, Byrider Franchising Partners pays the reasonable costs that arise from the action.
Source: Item 6 — Other Fees (FDD pages 21–32)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Byrider's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Byrider Franchising Partners will indemnify a franchisee for claims against the franchisee and/or their business under specific circumstances. Byrider will provide indemnification if the claims arise from the franchisee's authorized use of Byrider's trademarks, or from Byrider Franchising Partners' gross negligence or willful misconduct. Indemnification also applies to claims resulting from any mandatory specification, standard, or procedure contained in the Byrider manual that is determined to be unlawful.
However, there are conditions that a franchisee must meet to receive indemnification from Byrider Franchising Partners. The franchisee must give timely notice of the claims to Byrider Franchising Partners and must have complied with the Franchise Agreement. Additionally, Byrider Franchising Partners must participate in the legal proceeding as it deems necessary.
If these conditions are met, Byrider Franchising Partners will cover the reasonable costs that arise from the legal action. This arrangement is fairly typical in franchising, where the franchisor provides some protection to franchisees operating under its brand, but it also places responsibility on the franchisee to operate within the bounds of the agreement and to inform Byrider of any potential issues in a timely manner.