What does the Caring Transitions franchisor require from the franchisee as a condition of agreeing to a request?
Caring_Transitions Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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| We have the right under the Franchise Agreement to obtain a general release from you (and, if |
| applicable, your owners) as a condition of taking this action or agreeing to this request. Therefore, |
| we are willing to take the action or agree to the request specified above if you (and if applicable, |
| your owners) give us the release and covenant not to sue provided below in this document. You |
| (and, if applicable, your owners) are willing to give us the release and covenant not to sue |
| provided below as partial consideration for our willingness to take the action nor agree to the |
| request described above. |
| Consistent with the previous introduction, you, on your own behalf and on behalf of your |
| successors, heirs, executors, administrators, personal representatives, agents, assigns, partners, |
| shareholders, members, directors, officers, principals, employees, and affiliated entities |
| (collectively, the "Releasing Parties"), hereby forever release and discharge us and our current |
| and former officers, directors, shareholders, principals, employees, agents, representatives, |
| affiliated entities, successors, and assigns (collectively, the "Franchisor Parties") from any and all |
| claims, damages (known and unknown), demands, causes of action, suits, duties, liabilities, and |
| agreements of any nature and kind (collectively, "Claims") that you and any of the other Releasing |
| Parties now have, ever had, or, but for this document, hereafter would or could have against any |
| of the Franchisor Parties (1) arising out of or related to the Franchisor Parties' performance of |
| their obligations under the Franchise Agreement before the date of your signature below or (2) |
| otherwise arising from or related to your and the other Releasing Parties' relationship, from the |
| beginning of time to the date of your signature below, with any of the Franchisor Parties. You, on |
| your own behalf and on behalf of the other Releasing Parties, further covenant not to sue any of |
| the Franchisor Parties on any of the Claims released by this paragraph and represent that you |
| have not assigned any of the Claims released by this paragraph to any individual or entity that is |
| not bound by this paragraph. |
| We also are entitled to a release and covenant not to sue from your owners. By his, her, |
| or their separate signature below, your transferring owners likewise grant to us the release and |
| covenant not to sue provided above. |
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| Notwithstanding the above, nothing contained herein shall act as a release, estoppel or |
| waiver of any claim or liability arising under the Maryland Franchise Registration and Disclosure |
| Law. |
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CARING TRANSITIONS WINNER'S CIRCLE PROGRAM
Addendum to Franchise Agreement
This addendum is between C.T. FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC., an Ohio corporation ("Franchisor"), and the party or parties identified as "Franchisee" below.
PREAMBLE:
- A. Franchisor and Franchisee are parties to a "Franchise Agreement" under which Franchisor licensed Franchisee to operate a Caring Transitions franchised business (the "Franchised Business") using Franchisor's trademarks and unique business format.
- B. The parties desire to modify the Franchise Agreement as provided in this addendum.
THEREFORE, the parties hereby amend the Franchise Agreement as follows:
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- This addendum is an integral part of, and is incorporated into, the Franchise Agreement. Nevertheless, this addendum supersedes any inconsistent or conflicting provisions of the Franchise Agreement.
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- To make this addendum easier to read and understand, certain terms have been defined below and will be capitalized throughout the addendum. Capitalized terms that are not defined below may be defined in the section where they first appear. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this addendum are used as defined in the Franchise Agreement.
- (a) The "Commencement Date" is the first day of the first month following the month in which Franchisee or its Designated Individual completes the initial training program described in section 7.1 of the Franchise Agreement.
- (b) A "Year" is a one-year period beginning on the Commencement Date or the anniversary of the Commencement Date. The parties acknowledge that a "Year" as defined in this Addendum may not necessarily coincide with a calendar year. For example, a Year may be the period from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025, or from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
- (c) The "Rebate Period" begins on the Commencement Date and ends on the day before the fifth anniversary of the Commencement Date.
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Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Caring Transitions' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor, C.T. Franchising Systems, Inc., has the right to obtain a general release from the franchisee (and their owners, if applicable) as a condition of taking a specific action or agreeing to a request made by the franchisee. This means that if a franchisee asks Caring Transitions to take a certain action, such as renewing or transferring the franchise agreement, Caring Transitions can require the franchisee to sign a release.
The release involves the franchisee and their affiliated parties releasing Caring Transitions and its associated parties from any and all claims, damages, demands, causes of action, suits, liabilities, and agreements arising from the franchise agreement or the relationship between the franchisee and Caring Transitions, up to the date of signing the release. The franchisee also agrees not to sue Caring Transitions on any of the claims released. This requirement extends to the franchisee's owners, who must also provide a similar release and covenant not to sue.
This condition protects Caring Transitions from potential legal claims related to the franchisee's operation or the franchise agreement itself when the franchisee requests an action from the franchisor. However, the FDD specifies that this release does not waive any claim or liability arising under the Maryland Franchise Registration and Disclosure Law. Additionally, a Minnesota rule prohibits a franchisor from requiring a franchisee to agree to a general release, rendering any conflicting provision in the franchise agreement void in Minnesota.