What duty is the franchisee expressly bound by in the City Publications agreement?
City_Publications Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
s, executives, and professional staff and managers and the spouses of each of the foregoing sign a like restrictive covenant which shall protect both Franchisor and Franchisee. Said covenants shall remain on file at the offices of Franchisee and are subject to audit or review as otherwise set forth herein.
A. Restriction During Term of Agreement
Franchisee covenants that, except as otherwise approved in writing by Franchisor, neither Franchisee nor any partner(s), officer(s), director(s), member(s), executives, professional staff or sales staff or the spouses of any of the foregoing shall, during the term hereof, either directly or indirectly, for itself or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other entity:
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- Own an interest in, manage, operate, be employed, in a sales or management capacity, by, or act as a consultant to any Competitive Business anywhere;
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- Initiate any action to hire, or attempt to hire for any other employer, any person who is employed by Franchisor or employed by any other franchisee of the CITY PUBLICATIONS System, or induce any such person to leave his employment with Franchisor or any other franchisee in order to work for any other employer, whether or not the person's employment with the business is pursuant to a written agreement or is at will; or
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- Divert business of customers of the Franchised Business or other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Businesses to any Competitive Business.
B. Restriction After Termination
Franchisee covenants that, except as otherwise approved in writing by Franchisor, neither Franchisee nor any partner(s), officer(s), director(s), member(s), executives, or professional staff or sales staff or their spouses of any of the foregoing shall for a period of two (2) years after the expiration or termination of this Agreement regardless of the cause, either directly or indirectly, for itself or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other entity:
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- Own an interest in, manage, operate, be employed, in a sales or management capacity, by, or act as a consultant to any Competitive Business anywhere within the Exclusive Territory granted to Franchisee, or within a radius of twenty-five (25) miles of any other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Business;
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- Initiate any action to hire, or attempt to hire for any other employer, any person who is employed by Franchisor or employed by any other franchisee of the CITY PUBLICATIONS System, or induce any such person to leave his employment with Franchisor or any other franchisee in order to work for any other employer, whether or not the person's employment with the business is pursuant to a written agreement or is at will; or
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- Solicit business from customers of Franchisee's former CITY PUBLICATIONS business or other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Businesses.
C. Reasonableness of Restrictions
Franchisee acknowledges that the restrictive covenants contained in Section 17 are essential elements of this Agreement
and that without their inclusion, Franchisor would not have entered into this Agreement.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 39–129)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to City Publications' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are bound by restrictive covenants outlined in Section 17 of the franchise agreement. These covenants are acknowledged by the franchisee as essential elements of the agreement, without which City Publications would not have entered into the agreement. The franchisee agrees that all terms, including the restrictive covenants, are fair, reasonable, and necessary to protect City Publications and its franchise system.
During the term of the agreement, franchisees (and their partners, officers, directors, members, executives, professional staff, sales staff, or their spouses) are restricted from owning an interest in, managing, operating, or being employed by any Competitive Business. They are also prohibited from attempting to hire employees of City Publications or other franchisees, or from diverting business from existing City Publications customers to a Competitive Business. These restrictions apply unless otherwise approved in writing by City Publications.
Following the termination or expiration of the agreement, these restrictions continue for a period of two years. During this time, the franchisee is restricted from the same activities related to Competitive Businesses. The restrictions apply regardless of the cause of termination.
City Publications emphasizes the importance of these restrictions, stating that any breach would result in irreparable injury to the company. Due to the difficulty in ascertaining damages from a breach, City Publications is entitled to seek immediate equitable remedies, including restraining orders and injunctions, to prevent the franchisee from violating these covenants.