If the Addendum is inconsistent with the Monicals Pizza Area Development Agreement, which terms govern?
Monicals_Pizza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| This Addendum to the Area Development Agreement is agreed to this day of, 20, by and between Monical Pizza Corporation and | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | In recognition of the requirements of the Indiana Deceptive Franchise Practices Law, IC 23-2.2.7 and the Indiana Franchise Disclosure Law, IC 23-2-2-2.5, the Area Development Agreement for Monical Pizza Corporation is amended as follows: | |||
| | Section 8 of the Area Development Agreement is amended to prohibit unlawful unilateral termination of a franchise unless there is a material violation of the Area Development Agreement and termination is not in bad faith. | |||
| | Section 9.4 of the Area Development Agreement is amended subject to Indiana Code 23-2- 2.7-1(9) to provide that post-term non-competitor covenants shall have geographic limitation of the territory granted to Developer. | |||
| | Section 11.3 of the Area Development Agreement is amended to provide that Developer will not be required to indemnify Franchisor for any liability imposed upon Franchisor as a result of Developer's reliance upon or use of procedures or products, which were required by Franchisor, if such procedures or products were utilized by Developer in the manner required by Franchisor. | |||
| | Section 13.1 of the Area Development Agreement is amended to provide that in the event of a conflict between the laws of Indiana and Illinois, the Indiana Franchise Disclosure Law and/or the Indiana Deceptive Franchise Practices Law will prevail. | |||
| | Section 13.2 of the Area Development Agreement is amended to provide that Developer may commence litigation in Indiana for any cause of action under Indiana law. | |||
| | Section 13.7 of the Area Development Agreement is amended to provide that arbitration between Franchisor and Developer, shall be conducted in Indiana or a site mutually agreed upon. | |||
| 2. | Each provision of this Addendum shall be effective only to the extent that the jurisdictional requirements of the Indiana Law applicable to the provisions are met independently of this Addendum. To the extent this Addendum shall be deemed to be inconsistent with any terms or conditions of said Area Development Agreement or exhibits or attachments thereto, the terms of this Addendum shall govern. |
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 46–257)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, the terms of the Addendum to the Area Development Agreement govern if there are inconsistencies between the Addendum and the Area Development Agreement for Monicals Pizza. However, this is applicable only to the extent that the jurisdictional requirements of the relevant state law are independently met.
For prospective Monicals Pizza area developers, this means that the Addendum modifies the original Area Development Agreement, and its terms take precedence in case of conflicts. This ensures that the agreement complies with specific state laws, such as those in Hawaii, Wisconsin, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, which are mentioned in the excerpts.
It is important to note that the effectiveness of each provision within the Addendum is contingent upon meeting the jurisdictional requirements of the specific state law. Therefore, a Monicals Pizza developer needs to be aware of the specific state laws applicable to their Area Development Agreement and how the Addendum modifies the original agreement to ensure compliance.