By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley In our article titled, A Franchisor’s Comprehensive Guide to Updating an FDD, we covered key elements of a franchise disclosure document (“FDD”) and options to deal with omitted material facts, among many other elements of updating an FDD. In this article, we provide a more technical guide to some of the elements of an FDD and the timing of delivering it to prospective franchisees, all of which are critical to franchisors’ legal disclosure obligations. This article does not set all disclosure obligations, which are lengthy. The legal disclosure obligati ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley The daycare industry in Canada is probably becoming one of the most complex industries for franchisors to legally comply with their franchise disclosure obligations. Most Canadian child care centres now operate under a subsidy program – the federal Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (“CWELCC”) program – what is commonly known as the “$10/day program”. The CWELCC program is federal but it is implemented locally through provincial and local municipal governments. Combined, the CWELCC program is complex. Child care centres that wish to operate under ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley Franchise disputes sometimes arise when a franchise is purchased, sold, renewed, or terminated. Disputes sometimes come up before entering into the franchise agreement about deposits and pre-sale agreements. Disputes can also arise during the franchise relationship. A franchisor may have to deal with a franchisee’s operational non-compliance with the requirements of the franchise agreement, territorial and location rights, advertising, support, bad faith conduct, or allegations of misrepresentations by a franchisee. After a franchise relationship ends ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley A franchise system that grows beyond the first batch of five to ten locations is no longer a “startup”. At this stage, it should take care of disclosure issues and other legal housekeeping work, while embarking on further expansion. As a growing system, what worked in the past during the startup phase may not be robust enough to protect the franchisor from rescission and other legal risks going forward. The review process may involve an update to key franchise documents and the disclosure process. Typically, at this point in the lifecycle of the franchi ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley The daycare industry in Canada is probably becoming one of the most complex industries for franchisors to legally comply with their franchise disclosure obligations. Most Canadian child care centres now operate under a subsidy program – the federal Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (“CWELCC”) program – what is commonly known as the “$10/day program”. The CWELCC program is federal but it is implemented locally through provincial and local municipal governments. Combined, the CWELCC program is complex. Child care centres that wish to operate under ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley Franchise disputes sometimes arise when a franchise is purchased, sold, renewed, or terminated. Disputes sometimes come up before entering into the franchise agreement about deposits and pre-sale agreements. Disputes can also arise during the franchise relationship. A franchisor may have to deal with a franchisee’s operational non-compliance with the requirements of the franchise agreement, territorial and location rights, advertising, support, bad faith conduct, or allegations of misrepresentations by a franchisee. After a franchise relationship ends ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley Shareholder disputes frequently arise when there are underlying disagreements among controlling shareholders about key management decisions, concerns over transparency regarding finances and payments, or accusations of conflicts of interest among directors. These types of disputes can happen between majority and minority shareholders but they can also happen between shareholders who have an equal ownership stake in the business but who have different roles and levels of control. Often, the core of the issue lies in alleged imbalances in control and acce ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley Shareholder disputes frequently arise when there are underlying disagreements among controlling shareholders about key management decisions, concerns over transparency regarding finances and payments, or accusations of conflicts of interest among directors. These types of disputes can happen between majority and minority shareholders but they can also happen between shareholders who have an equal ownership stake in the business but who have different roles and levels of control. Often, the core of the issue lies in alleged imbalances in control and acce ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley The success of your franchise business model as a franchisor often depends on how your franchisee operates the franchised business and follows the franchise system. Despite a franchisor’s best efforts, some franchisees may need to exit the franchise system early as a result of defaults and termination. This article, written from the prospective of franchisors, outlines the key issues, rights and steps involved in ending a your agreement with a franchisee. We also provide links to earlier articles that we have written, delving into some of those issues i ..read more

By: Ben Hanuka Edited by: Rebecca Colley Your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is a living document. Once in place, it needs periodic review, update, and customization for each new site and sometime for a new prospective franchisee. We have written extensively about what makes a compliant franchise disclosure document and how errors and omissions can put franchisors at great financial and reputational risk. In this short but comprehensive guide, we have put together critical issues surrounding FDDs from various articles we have written in the past into one article that also points you to re ..read more