For City Publications franchises in Indiana, what is the geographical limitation of the post-term noncompetition covenant?
City_Publications Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 39–129)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to City Publications' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, after the termination of the franchise agreement, the franchisee is restricted from involvement with any competitive business. This restriction applies for two years after the agreement ends, regardless of the reason for termination.
The geographical scope of this restriction includes the franchisee's exclusive territory and extends to a 25-mile radius around any other City Publications franchise. Specifically, the franchisee cannot own, manage, operate, be employed by, or act as a consultant for any competitive business within these areas. This prevents a former franchisee from directly competing with City Publications or its other franchisees in the immediate vicinity.
Additionally, the franchisee is prohibited from hiring or attempting to hire any person employed by City Publications or any of its franchisees. They are also barred from soliciting business from customers of their former City Publications business or other City Publications franchises. These measures are in place to protect City Publications' customer base and workforce from being unfairly targeted by a former franchisee.