Does the Kitchen Solvers agreement state that the parties entered into the agreement voluntarily?

According to Kitchen Solvers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement initially included an acknowledgement in Section 16.B stating that franchisees were entering the agreement based on their own independent investigation, not due to any representations made by Kitchen Solvers that contradicted the agreement or disclosure documents. However, this provision has been deleted via addendums in New York and North Dakota.

Specifically, the addendum for New York states that the following provision in Section 16.B of the Franchise Agreement is deleted: "You acknowledge that you are entering into this Agreement as a result of your own independent investigation of the KITCHEN SOLVERS franchise program and not as a result of any representation about us made by our shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, independent contractors or franchisees that is contrary to the terms identified in this Agreement or in any disclosure document, prospectus, or other similar document required or permitted to be given to you pursuant to applicable law."

Similarly, the addendum for North Dakota states that the following provision in Section 16.B of the Franchise Agreement is deleted: "You acknowledge that you are entering into this Agreement as a result of your own independent investigation of the KITCHEN SOLVERS franchise program and not as a result of any representation about us made by our shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, independent contractors or franchisees that is contrary to the terms identified in this Agreement or in any disclosure document, prospectus, or other similar document required or permitted to be given to you pursuant to applicable law."

These deletions indicate that Kitchen Solvers franchisees in New York and North Dakota are not bound by the original acknowledgement. This change protects franchisees in these states from being held to a statement that might limit their ability to claim they relied on representations made by Kitchen Solvers during the franchise sales process. Prospective franchisees in other states should check if a similar addendum applies to their state.