Entitlement to goodwill compensation for franchisee established – mr. AW Dolphijn – dated December 30, 2021
On December 22, 2021, the District Court of Rotterdam ruled for the first time, as far as is known, that a franchisee is entitled to a goodwill compensation, as referred to in the Franchise Act. The ruling has not (yet) been published.
The Franchise Act stipulates that under certain circumstances a franchisee may be entitled to compensation for goodwill. See Article 7:920 paragraph 1 of the Dutch Civil Code. Although the Franchise Act stipulates that the franchise agreement must contain a goodwill arrangement no later than 1 January 2023, the court ruled that this already applies in the relevant case.
The franchise agreement regarding a service formula had ended after the agreed term had expired. The customer base belonged to the franchisee. However, just before the end of the franchise agreement, the franchisor had informed the franchisee’s customers that the services provided by the franchisor would be continued, that the franchisee’s staff would be taken over and that the entire service would therefore remain unchanged. The former franchisee was not compensated at all by the franchisor. The court deems this contrary to law. An expert will have to determine the size of the goodwill value, for which the franchisor must advance the costs of the expert’s report.
Ludwig & Van Dam lawyers, franchise legal advice.
Do you want to respond? Then email to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl
Other messages
Amsterdam Court of Appeal restricts franchisor’s appeal to non-competition – dated July 6, 2020 – mr. T. Meijer
On 30 June 20202, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that a franchisor is not entitled to an (unlimited) appeal to a contractual non-competition clause.
Vacancy lawyer-employee
Ludwig & Van Dam Advocaten is a law firm that specializes entirely in franchise and other partnerships and is the market leader of its kind in the Netherlands.
Qualitaria franchisee put in his shirt – dated July 2, 2020 – mr. JAJ Devilee
The District Court of Zeeland-West-Brabant has rendered a judgment in legal proceedings initiated by a Qualitaria franchisee.
Supermarket newsletter -28-
Supermarket newsletter -28-
Article Franchise+ – “Immediate information obligations of franchisors upon operation of the Franchise Act” – mr. AW Dolphijn – dated June 25, 2020
As soon as the Franchise Act enters into force, this will have an immediate effect on franchise agreements that already exist. The question is whether the information flows are set up optimally from a legal point of view.
Senate will adopt Franchise Act – dated 24 June 2020 – mr. AW Dolphin
The House of Representatives had unanimously adopted the proposal to introduce the Franchise Act on 16 June 2020