Does the Southern Steer Multi-Unit Developer's indemnification obligation extend to any determination by a court or agency that the Franchisor is the employer or a joint employer of any of Multi-Unit Developer and/or Controlled Entity's (if any) employees?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
(g) any determination by a court or agency that the Franchisor is the employer or a joint employer of any of Multi-Unit Developer and/or Controlled Entity's (if any) employees;
(h) any claim, action, suit, or proceeding by Franchisee's employees, including but not limited to workers compensation, unemployment, and wage-and-hour claims; and
(i) any other Claims brought against any of the Franchisor Indemnified Parties.
Franchisor's Gross Negligence and Intentional Misconduct.
Neither the Multi-Unit Developer nor the Controlled Entity (if any) will be obligated to indemnify the Franchisor Indemnified Parties for any Damages attributable to, arising out of, from, in connection with, or as a result of any gross negligence or intentional misconduct by the Franchisor Indemnified Parties.
- Payment of Costs and Expenses.
The Multi-Unit Developer and/or the Controlled Entity (if any) will pay all reasonable attorneys' fees, costs and expenses incurred by the Franchisor Indemnified Parties to defend any action brought by a third party against any of the Franchisor Indemnified Parties as set forth in Section 13.1.
Source: Item 5 — and 7 of the FDD, Section 3.1 of the Franchise Agreement and Section 4.1 of the Multi-Unit Development Agreement are hereby amended to state that payment of the initial franchise fee and development fee will be deferred until We have satisfied Our pre-opening obligations, and You have commenced business operations. (FDD pages 168–290)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Southern Steer's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Multi-Unit Developer is required to indemnify the Franchisor Indemnified Parties for damages arising from specific claims. This indemnification extends to any determination by a court or agency that Southern Steer is the employer or a joint employer of any of the Multi-Unit Developer's or Controlled Entity's employees.
This means that if a court or agency determines that Southern Steer is considered an employer or joint employer of the Multi-Unit Developer's employees, the Multi-Unit Developer will be responsible for covering any resulting damages. These damages could include legal fees, back wages, penalties, and other costs associated with the employer-employee relationship.
However, the Multi-Unit Developer is not required to indemnify the Franchisor Indemnified Parties for damages resulting from the gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the Franchisor Indemnified Parties. The Multi-Unit Developer and/or the Controlled Entity will also be responsible for paying all reasonable attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses incurred by the Franchisor Indemnified Parties to defend any action brought by a third party against any of the Franchisor Indemnified Parties.