Goodwill at end of franchise agreement
In a case before the Amsterdam Court of Appeal on 26 September 2017, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2017:3900 (Seal & Go), a franchisee claimed goodwill compensation (ex Article 7:308 of the Dutch Civil Code) after the franchisor had terminated the lease, in order to continue the operation of the company itself.
In the first instance, the District Court of Noord-Holland dated 24 December 2015, ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2015:11974, rejected the franchisee’s claim because there was no advantage on the part of the franchisor. The clientele was due to the location and not the entrepreneurial activity. The company was located at Schiphol Airport and it is that location that apparently, according to the court, resulted in the (accumulated) customer base.
The Court of Appeal upheld the District Court’s judgment and added that the mere significant increase in turnover and profit realized by the former franchisee does not provide sufficient concrete leads to conclude that the franchisor has enjoyed an attributable advantage. to the franchisee’s business activities.
mr. AW Dolphijn – Franchise lawyer
Ludwig & Van Dam Franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice. Do you want to respond? Go to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl .
![232court-min](https://www.ludwigvandam.nl/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/232court-min.jpg)
Other messages
The hardness of a non-competition clause in bankruptcy
Most franchise agreements contain post-contract non-competition clauses
E-mail traffic between franchisor and franchisee
If a discussion gets out of hand and a real conflict arises, can communication continue via email?
Turnover-related rent for franchisees
Increasingly, franchisor/landlord and franchisee/lessee are pursuing opportunity for a variety of reasons
Control and guidance
Situations occur with some regularity in practice in which a franchisee
Rental problems: a follow-up
Earlier in this section attention was paid to the possibilities for tenants of retail space in particular
Restyling, shopfitting
Within franchise organizations it often happens that the entire shop interior needs to be replaced.