Under what circumstances is a Deer Solution franchisee presumed to have violated the franchise agreement regarding Know-How and immediate family members?

According to the 2025 Deer Solution Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee is presumed to have violated the franchise agreement regarding Know-How if an immediate family member is involved in a Competitive Business. This presumption means that Deer Solution will assume the franchisee disclosed confidential information or permitted its disclosure to the family member.

However, the franchisee has the opportunity to rebut this presumption. To do so, the franchisee must provide evidence that conclusively demonstrates they did not disclose the Know-How, nor did they permit the disclosure of Know-How to the family member involved in the Competitive Business.

This clause places a significant burden on Deer Solution franchisees to actively monitor and control the activities of their immediate family members to ensure they do not become involved in any competitive ventures that could potentially utilize Deer Solution's confidential information. The definition of "Immediate Family" is broad, including spouses and any other member of the household, including children, which means franchisees must be vigilant about who has access to their business information and activities.