factual

Does the Cinnaholic agreement specify that the liquidated damages are intended as a penalty?

Cinnaholic Franchise · 2025 FDD

Answer from 2025 FDD Document

Franchisee acknowledges and confirms that by granting Franchisee the license to operate the Bakery in the Franchise Territory, Franchisor lost the opportunity to grant a franchise for the Franchise Territory to another person or entity or to itself to own and operate a Bakery within the Franchise Territory. Additionally, Franchisee confirms that Franchisor will suffer substantial damages by virtue of the termination of this Agreement, including, without limitation, lost Royalty Fees, lost market penetration and goodwill in the Franchise Territory, lost opportunity costs and the expense Franchisor will incur in developing another franchise for the Franchise Territory, which damages are impractical and extremely difficult to ascertain and/or calculate accurately, and the proof of which would be burdensome and costly, although such damages are real and meaningful to Franchisor and the CINNAHOLIC® System. Accordingly, in the event that Franchisor terminates this Agreement for Franchisee's default hereunder, Franchisee agrees to pay to Franchisor in a lump sum on the effective date of termination, liquidated damages, which represents a fair and reasonable estimate of Franchisor's foreseeable losses as a result of such termination, and which are not in any way intended to be a penalty, in an amount determined as follows:

  • (i) the average annual amount of Royalty Fees payable by Franchisee to Franchisor for the two years immediately preceding the date of termination provided, however, if the Bakery has not been open for at least two years, the average monthly amount of Royalty Fees payable by Franchisee to Franchisor for the months in which the Bakery has been open multiplied by 12;
  • (ii) multiplied by two; however, if the Franchise Agreement term has less than two years remaining, then multiply by the number of years (or portions of a year) remaining in the term.

Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 61–62)

What This Means (2025 FDD)

According to Cinnaholic's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement explicitly states that liquidated damages are not intended as a penalty. The agreement acknowledges that Cinnaholic loses the opportunity to grant the franchise to someone else when awarding a territory.

The document states that Cinnaholic will suffer substantial damages upon termination of the agreement, including lost royalty fees, market penetration, goodwill, opportunity costs, and expenses related to developing another franchise. These damages are described as impractical and extremely difficult to calculate accurately, making proof of them burdensome and costly.

To address this, the agreement stipulates that if Cinnaholic terminates the agreement due to the franchisee's default, the franchisee must pay liquidated damages. These damages are defined as a fair and reasonable estimate of Cinnaholic's foreseeable losses resulting from the termination and are explicitly stated not to be a penalty.

Disclaimer: This information is extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document and is provided for research purposes only. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. Consult with a franchise attorney before making any investment decisions.