Termination or dissolution of the franchise agreement by the franchisee
In principle, franchise agreements can be terminated prematurely, for example by cancellation or dissolution. On 21 March 2018, the District Court of Overijssel, ECLI:NL:RBOVE:2018:1335, ruled on the question whether a franchisee had validly terminated the franchise agreement prematurely.
The franchisor had wanted to use summary proceedings to ensure that the cooperation between the parties would be resumed immediately, now that the franchisee had discontinued it. The franchise agreement contained rules about early termination. However, the franchisee had not signed the franchise agreement and in the context of the preliminary relief proceedings the court disregarded the provisions of the franchise agreement. It has been established, however, that the parties had in any case concluded an (oral) continuing performance contract.
The franchisee had already indicated to the franchisor for some time that he wished to terminate the franchise agreement as soon as possible. Instead of terminating the franchise agreement, the franchisee had terminated the franchise agreement. However, the franchisee had not sufficiently substantiated and substantiated that the franchisor had failed. It had therefore not become plausible that it was justified to terminate the franchise agreements.
Since the franchisee had not terminated the franchise agreement, which may under certain circumstances be possible to terminate, and the dissolution was not legally valid, the (verbally) concluded franchise agreement must be complied with.
mr. AW Dolphijn – franchise lawyer
Ludwig & Van Dam Franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice. Do you want to respond? Go to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl .
Other messages
The Franchise Association and Franchise Binding – Contracting 2019, No. 1
A contribution on common provisions in franchise agreements that require a franchisee to be a member of a franchisee's association.
Deception in recruiting a franchisee?
A ruling on whether the franchisor had made a misrepresentation when recruiting a franchisee.
Franchisor liable for forecasts from third parties – dated March 6, 2019 – mr. M. Munnik
According to settled case law, a franchisor acts unlawfully towards its franchisee when a franchisor independently conducts research in a careless manner and as a result...
The (hard) franchise agreement and duty of care qualified – WPNR 7226 (2019)
The government intends to include a legal regulation on franchising in the Civil Code to protect the weak position of the franchisee.
The municipality must allow temporary Albert Heijn
On 7 February 2019, the District Court of Noord-Holland ruled on whether the municipality should allow a temporary Albert Heijn
Franchisors may no longer impose changes to store hours – February 12, 2019 – mr. AW Dolphin
At the end of 2018, a draft of the “Freedom of Choice for Retailers (Opening Hours) Act” was presented.