We once acted for a franchisor who had a franchisee with unpaid royalties of  about $7,000. No big deal right? The franchisor's attitude was one of annoyance but it did not want to take action to pursue the debt and the issue festered beneath the surface for the best part of a year.  That is, until the franchisee had negotiated extraordinarily favourable lease terms for a new premises located within a highly sought after retail precinct. Then, all of a sudden, the...

I always describe a Prior Representations Deed to franchisors as a "cover your butt" document. When explaining a Prior Representations Deed to franchisees I advise them to take the deed very seriously. The deed is all about misleading and deceptive conduct. For Franchisors Generally, this deed should form a part of your franchise suite of documents.  Sometimes it will be included in the franchise agreement itself. I am not a fan of including the deed in t...