Suppose your franchise company is involved in a legal disagreement with a Franchisor. In that case, a franchise buyer can file a complaint against the Franchisor and any related co-defendants, Veteran Group Companies (VGC’s), and any Not-For-Profit Corporations that may be affiliated with the Franchisor. In this case, the franchise buyer may not be able to recover any monies from the co-defendants, and no whining is permitted.
Many Franchisor’s recognized to use a CPA firm or mediator to assist their franchisees in their legal dispute with the Franchisor, whereas in other cases, many franchisors may not have any detection that their franchisees may be involved in a lawsuit.
Of course, another problem that may arise even with the best franchise attorney firms, franchisee attorneys, franchisee resale attorneys etc is the effect of the “divorce” to be on the franchisee as well. You see, no matter what the Franchise attorney or franchisee attorneys truly think of it, a former franchisee of a franchise company can still be caused greater health problems by any other problems of the Franchisor or franchisees on their side. Therefore, they cannot sue if they are doing business with the Franchisor; they will not be able to enforce any award from the Franchisor.
If ever a Franchisor sues a franchisee, almost 90% of all franchisees coupled with the franchising company will not be able to recover any monies from this industry, as they are unable to support their franchisees and family of franchisees on their side for the royalties they pay to the Franchisor, as well as any compensations from the franchise system.
If a franchisee who is a franchisee, sub-franchisee, or a franchise in a non-feasible vendor relationship, with no intention of ever signing a non-compete agreement because the franchisee is covered by the franchise agreement from the loss of any and all litigation, as well as an award of damages from the franchising company can file a complaint against the Franchisor, even in retrospect, it would be no different than a complaint against any other franchisor, having t set forth in the franchise agreement the Franchisor may get nasty with the franchisee, they cannot offer a standard award or warranty, which allows them to continue conducting business.
So, what can be done? Well, you see, franchisees are going to be upset with any franchisor that goes ahead and sues them, particularly if they are forced against their will into some type of problem. The Franchisor then attempted to hash out the dispute by telling a franchising court case that a breach of contract was committed. However, most often, a franchisor will offer a settlement prior to going to court or attaching any documents to the complaint.
The problem then, in this case, is the siding of the franchisee. A Franchisor is generally pretty non-emotional about its relationship with the franchisee, and in fact it is most often a legal partnership with no “real” personal attachments between the two parties. As well, if the franchisee is the only one making the amount of money and if the franchisee takes on debt for the franchise system, then normally, it is a mutually agreed financial arrangement.
If the Franchisor is forced against their will into traditional litigation through the franchisee, then the Franchisor is going to have a problem with that franchisee because they are not going to pay up these royalties or monies they owe both.
If the franchisee uses the Franchisor, then the Franchisor can hire a Franchise Attorney to go in and sue them and thus tie up all their assets in different parts of the country (or Planet) as it can take up to three months for all the paperwork to be ready. However, the franchisee can have their attorney present at the settlement hearing.
The combinations of all these problems can cause the Franchisor an extreme cash flow problem if they are not kept under control. Now, it is important to note that the Franchisor’s inability to control these snapbacks and all the associated liabilities if a franchising system is a new company or a relatively new franchise entity; therefore; it is important to work with a good Franchise Attorney or Franchise Lawyer.