Can arbitration be conducted on a class-wide basis against Cream?

According to Cream's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis. Specifically, any arbitration proceeding between Cream and its affiliates, and their respective shareholders, officers, directors, agents, and employees, on one hand, and the franchisee, their owners, guarantors, affiliates, and employees, on the other hand, cannot be conducted on a class-wide basis. This means a franchisee cannot participate in a class action against Cream through arbitration.

Furthermore, the FDD states that arbitration proceedings cannot be commenced, conducted, or consolidated with any other arbitration proceeding. Nor can they be joined with any separate claim of an unaffiliated third party, or be brought on the franchisee's behalf by any association or agent. This reinforces the individual nature of any arbitration between Cream and its franchisees.

However, there is an exception. If any court or arbitrator determines that the clause preventing class-wide arbitration is unenforceable, then the agreement to arbitrate does not apply to that specific dispute. In such a case, the dispute would be resolved in a judicial proceeding as per the agreement's dispute resolution provisions. This creates a potential legal avenue for franchisees to pursue class action claims against Cream if the standard arbitration restrictions are deemed unenforceable.