What is the Dq Treat licensee's responsibility regarding code compliance of the Plans provided by ADQ?
Dq_Treat Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- B. The Plans provided by ADQ are per Minnesota code and may not comply with specific state and local requirements throughout the country. IT IS THE LICENSEE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO VERIFY THE COMPLIANCE OF THESE PLANS WITH LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS AND BUILDING CODE REQUIREMENTS AND TO REVISE THE PLANS ACCORDINGLY. THE COST TO REVISE SUCH PLANS IS TO BE BORNE BY THE LICENSEE.
- C. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("Act"), certain handicap accessibility requirements are placed on any "person" who owns, leases, leases to, or operates a place of public accommodation. As an owner, lessor, or operator of a restaurant, ADQ Licensees are liable for failures to accommodate disabled people as provided for in the Act. While ADQ employs its best efforts to see that all plans prepared by it comply with the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, it is not an insurer of and does not guarantee compliance, and cannot be responsible for failures by Licensees, their architects, or their contractors to construct buildings that comply with the Act. Consequently, you are advised to seek your own legal counsel in regard to ADA Accessibility Compliance and to ensure that the contractors with whom you work are aware, knowledgeable about, and committed to producing buildings in compliance with the Act.
Source: Item 17 — The following paragraph is added to the end of Item 17 of the Disclosure Document: (FDD pages 70–378)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Dq Treat FDD, the licensee bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the construction plans comply with all applicable codes and laws. While ADQ provides plans based on Minnesota code, these plans may not meet the specific requirements of every locality. Therefore, it is the Dq Treat franchisee's duty to verify compliance with local, state, and federal laws, including building codes, and to revise the plans accordingly at their own expense. This includes ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Dq Treat advises franchisees to seek legal counsel regarding ADA compliance and to ensure their contractors are knowledgeable about and committed to constructing buildings that meet ADA standards.
ADQ offers construction consultation services to Dq Treat franchisees, including consultation during the plan review process and assistance with state and local regulatory agencies concerning building, health, and fire codes. However, the FDD clearly states that it remains the franchisee's sole responsibility to ensure the plans conform to all state and local codes. The construction plans and specifications provided by ADQ are design intent drawings based on Minnesota state codes, and site-specific changes will need to be made to the plans by a local architect hired by the franchisee.
This allocation of responsibility is typical in franchising, where franchisees are responsible for adhering to local regulations. The franchisee also waives all claims against ADQ for damages to property or injuries to persons arising out of the design and/or construction of Licensee's building pursuant to this Agreement or in any way relating to the Plans. The franchisee must fully protect, indemnify and defend ADQ and its affiliates and hold them harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, and liabilities of any nature whatsoever arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, out of, in connection with, or incident to the Plans, the franchised location, this Agreement (regardless of cause or any concurrent or contributing fault or negligence of ADQ) or any breach or failure to comply with this Agreement. This means that the franchisee assumes the risk of non-compliance and any associated liabilities.