Under the City Wide franchise agreement, can a franchisee join or consolidate claims in arbitration with other franchisees?

According to the 2025 City Wide Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are not allowed to consolidate claims in arbitration with other franchisees. The franchise agreement specifies that arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis, and not as part of a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action.

This means that each City Wide franchisee must pursue any claims against the franchisor independently. Franchisees cannot band together to arbitrate similar grievances collectively. This limitation is explicitly stated in the franchise agreement, preventing franchisees from joining or consolidating claims with other franchisees or third parties.

The inability to pursue joint arbitration could potentially increase costs and risks for individual franchisees, as they must bear the full burden of arbitration expenses and legal fees on their own. It also prevents franchisees from leveraging the collective bargaining power that could come from group arbitration. However, this type of clause is relatively common in franchise agreements.

While franchisees are restricted from collective action in arbitration, City Wide retains the right to seek injunctive relief from a court of law to prevent potential losses or damages while arbitration is pending. This ensures that City Wide can protect its interests even as the arbitration process unfolds.