Does the agreement to attempt internal dispute resolution for Crawlspace Medic survive the termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement?
Crawlspace_Medic Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
- 20.1. Internal Dispute Resolution. Franchisee shall first bring any claim, controversy or dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Attachments hereto or the relationship created by this Agreement to Franchisor's president and/or chief executive officer for resolution. After providing notice as set forth in Section 21.7 below, Franchisee must exhaust this internal dispute resolution procedure before Franchisee may bring Franchisee's dispute before a third party. This agreement to first attempt resolution of disputes internally shall survive termination or expiration of this Agreement.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 42)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to the 2024 Crawlspace Medic Franchise Disclosure Document, the agreement to first attempt internal dispute resolution survives the termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement. Specifically, before a franchisee can bring a dispute before a third party, they must first attempt to resolve it with Crawlspace Medic's president and/or chief executive officer.
This requirement to engage in internal dispute resolution after the franchise agreement ends means that even after the formal business relationship concludes, franchisees must still attempt to resolve any lingering issues or disputes internally with Crawlspace Medic before pursuing other avenues such as mediation or litigation.
This clause could benefit both the franchisee and Crawlspace Medic by encouraging open communication and potentially resolving disputes more efficiently and cost-effectively than formal legal proceedings. However, franchisees should be aware of this obligation and factor it into their post-termination plans should any disputes arise.