How much advance written notice must a Cream franchisee provide to Cream to terminate the franchise agreement for Cream's failure to comply?
Cream Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If you and your owners are fully complying with this Agreement and we materially fail to comply with this Agreement and do not correct the failure within 30 days after you deliver written notice of the material failure to us or if we cannot correct the failure within 30 days and we fail to give you within 30 days after your notice reasonable evidence of our effort to correct the failure within a reasonable time, you may terminate this Agreement effective an additional 30 days after you deliver to us written notice of termination. Your termination of this Agreement other than according to this Section 5.B will be deemed a termination without cause and a breach of this Agreement.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 61–192)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Cream Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee must provide two separate written notices to terminate the franchise agreement if Cream materially fails to comply with the agreement. The franchisee must first deliver a written notice to Cream detailing the material failure to comply with the agreement. Cream then has 30 days to correct the failure. If Cream cannot correct the failure within 30 days, they must provide reasonable evidence of their effort to correct the failure within a reasonable time.
If Cream fails to correct the issue within the initial 30-day period or provide evidence of their effort to correct, the franchisee can then deliver a second written notice of termination to Cream. This second notice makes the termination effective an additional 30 days after the delivery of the notice. Therefore, the Cream franchisee must provide an initial 30 days' notice, followed by an additional 30 days' notice, totaling 60 days' written notice before terminating the agreement due to Cream's failure to comply.
This two-step notification process is designed to give Cream an opportunity to remedy any failures and maintain the franchise relationship. It also protects the franchisee by providing a clear path to termination if Cream does not meet its obligations. Franchise agreements often include clauses requiring franchisees to provide written notice and an opportunity to cure before terminating the agreement, which is a common practice in the franchise industry.