What happens if I disclose Cordova's Know-How to my grandchild?
Cordova Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
n a legal proceeding pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction and after affording us no less than 15 business days prior notice and an opportunity for us, at our election, to appear in such action.
- (e) Immediate Family Members. You acknowledge that should you circumvent the purpose and protections (due to us) of this Agreement by disclosing Know-How to an immediate family member (i.e., parent, sibling, child, or grandchild) we will and the System will be irreparably harmed. You acknowledge that if you did disclose the Know-How to an immediate family member and your immediate family member used the Know-How to engage in activities that, for you, qualify as Prohibited Activities as defined above, that we and the System will be irreparably harmed. You agree that as between you and us that you are in a better position to know if you permitted and/or provide an immediate family member with access to the Know-How. Therefore, you agree that you will be presumed to have violated the terms of this Agreement if any member of your immediate family (i) engages in any Prohibited Activities during any period of time during which you are prohibited from engaging in the Prohibited Activities or (ii) uses or discloses the Know-How. However, you may rebut this presumption by providing evidence conclusively demonstrating that you did not disclose the Know-How nor permit disclosure of the Know-How to the family member.
- (f) Reasonableness of Covenants and Restrictions.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 44–195)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cordova's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if you disclose the Know-How to an immediate family member, such as a grandchild, and that family member uses the Know-How to engage in prohibited activities, Cordova will consider that to be irreparably harmful to them. Cordova presumes that you, as the franchisee, are in the best position to know if you provided an immediate family member with access to the Know-How.
Therefore, if a member of your immediate family engages in prohibited activities during the time you are restricted from doing so, or if they use or disclose the Know-How, you will be presumed to have violated the terms of the Franchise Agreement. An "Immediate Family Member" is defined as the spouse of a person and any other member of the household of such person, including, without limitation, children, and grandchildren of such person.
However, you have the opportunity to rebut this presumption by providing evidence that conclusively demonstrates you did not disclose the Know-How or permit its disclosure to the family member. This means you would need to provide solid proof to Cordova that you took reasonable steps to prevent your grandchild from accessing or using Cordova's confidential information and operating procedures. The definition of Know-How is not provided in the excerpts.