Is the waiver of unknown claims considered an essential term of the Craters & Freighters agreement?
Craters_Freighters Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Franchisee Releasing Parties acknowledge and agree that the foregoing waiver is an essential, integral, and material term of this Agreement.
The Franchisee Releasing Parties further acknowledge and agree that no violation of this Agreement will void the release set forth in this Agreement.
Full and Unconditional Release.
The release of claims set forth in Section 4 is intended by the Franchisee Releasing Parties to be a full and unconditional general release, as that phrase is used and commonly interpreted, extending to all claims of any nature, whether or not known, expected or anticipated to exist in favor of the Franchisee Releasing Parties against the Franchisor Released Parties, regardless of whether any unknown, unsuspected or unanticipated claim would materially affect settlement and compromise of any matter mentioned herein.
In making this voluntary express waiver, the Franchisee Releasing Parties acknowledge that claims or facts in addition to or different from those which are now known to exist with respect to the matters mentioned herein may later be discovered and that it is the Franchisee Releasing Parties' intentions to hereby fully and forever settle and release any and all matters, regardless of the possibility of later discovered claims or facts.
The Franchisee Releasing Parties acknowledge that they have had adequate opportunity to gather all information necessary to enter into this Agreement and release.
This release is and shall be and remain a full, complete, and unconditional general release relating to the
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 50–193)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Craters & Freighters Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee releasing parties acknowledge and agree that the waiver within the agreement is an essential, integral, and material term. This means that Craters & Freighters considers this waiver to be a critical component of the agreement.
This waiver is designed to be a full and unconditional general release, extending to all claims, whether known or unknown, expected, or unanticipated, that the franchisee might have against Craters & Freighters. The franchisee acknowledges that they may later discover claims or facts different from what they currently know, but it is their intention to fully settle and release all matters, regardless of such possibilities.
This agreement also states that the franchisee has had adequate opportunity to gather all necessary information before entering into the agreement and release. However, the release of claims does not apply to claims arising under the Washington Franchise Investment Protection Act, RCW 19.100, and its rules. This indicates that while the waiver is broad, it is not absolute and has specific exceptions under certain state laws.