Can Epcon Communities suspend a franchisee's right to use the Higharc Services?
Epcon_Communities Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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Franchisee shall at all times comply with any and all terms and conditions of Higharc related to the use of the Higharc Services. Franchisee's compliance with such terms and conditions shall be determined by Franchisor and/or Higharc in their sole discretion. In addition, as one of the conditions of its right to use the Higharc Services, Franchisee agrees to accept and abide by any conditions of use published or provided by Franchisor from time to time in connection with the Higharc Services. Franchisee's compliance with such terms and conditions shall be determined by Franchisor in its sole discretion.
Franchisee acknowledges that Franchisor may, in its sole discretion, suspend, limit or revoke a Franchisee's right to use the Higharc Services if Franchisor determines that Franchisee, its agents, employees or owners, have failed to comply with the requirements and obligations pertaining to the Higharc Services. Notwithstanding any such suspension, limitation or revocation described above, the obligations of Franchisee to pay the Technology Royalty under this Addendum will continue without reduction until such time as all amounts owed by Franchisee to Franchisor under the terms of this Addendum are indefeasibly paid in full.
In consideration for use of the Higharc Services, commencing with the date of execution of this Addendum, contemporaneously with the closing of the sale of each Unit in the Project, Franchisee shall remit (or have the escrow agent, attorney, or any other person conducting closings remit) a payment to Franchisor in an amount equal to One-Thousand Five Hundred No/100 Dollars ($1,500.00) (the "Technology Royalty"). No later than two days prior to a Unit's closing, a Settlement Statement or Settlement Disclosure Form, reflecting the applicable Technology Royalty payment for such Unit, shall be provided to Franchisor.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 86–280)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Epcon Communities has the authority to suspend, limit, or revoke a franchisee's right to use the Higharc Services. This action can be taken if Epcon Communities determines that the franchisee, their agents, employees, or owners have failed to comply with the requirements and obligations pertaining to the Higharc Services. This gives Epcon Communities broad discretion to control access to this important service.
Even if a franchisee's access to Higharc Services is suspended, limited, or revoked, the franchisee's obligation to pay the Technology Royalty continues without reduction. This obligation remains until all amounts owed by the franchisee to Epcon Communities under the addendum are paid in full. This means a franchisee could potentially be paying for a service they are unable to use, which could impact their profitability.
Additionally, the franchisee's right to use the Higharc Services will automatically terminate without notice if Epcon Communities' agreement with Higharc expires or is terminated for any reason. The franchisee's right to use the Higharc Services also terminates automatically upon the termination or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, any default by the franchisee of its obligations under the Addendum, the Franchise Agreement, or the Other Agreements (beyond any applicable cure period), or the closing of the sale of the last Unit in the franchisee's Project. These conditions highlight the dependence of the franchisee's access to Higharc Services on several factors outside of their direct control.