Not an exclusive catchment area, but still exclusivity for the franchisee
The judgment of the District Court of Noord-Holland dated 18 April 2018, ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2018:3268, ruled on the exclusivity area of a franchisee.
It was agreed that the franchisor is in principle entitled to admit another franchisee in the same district, provided that the franchisor has offered the franchisee the opportunity in writing to expand its business to meet customer demand and that the franchisee has given you 30 days to accept this offer.
However, the franchisee and the franchisee newly admitted to the district had already worked together before, each exploiting the formula for their own account. Although this argues that the new franchisee could be admitted by the franchisor to the relevant district, the interpretation is not only governed by the content of the franchise agreement, but also by reasonableness and fairness.
It turned out that the franchisee in question, newly admitted to the district, had just been presented to the franchisor as a temporary experiment and it had been agreed, at the suggestion of the existing franchisee, that “the ownership of the franchise license and the district will remain fully in the hands of [ the (existing) franchisee]” remains. The court therefore concludes that the franchisor, after the end of the experiment, should not have allowed the new franchisee in question to enter the territory of the existing franchisee. So the circumstances dictate how the franchise agreement should be applied.
mr. AW Dolphijn – franchise lawyer
Ludwig & Van Dam Franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice. Do you want to respond? Go to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl .
![219contracts-min](https://www.ludwigvandam.nl/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/219contracts-min.jpg)
Other messages
Article Franchise+ – Current state of affairs Franchise Act – dated March 27, 2020 – mr. AW Dolphin
The legislative process regarding the Franchise Act continues despite everything.
Rent reduction and corona crisis – dated 25 March 2020 – mr. Th.R. Ludwig
In this turbulent time for franchisors and franchisees, many are faced with ongoing obligations that have become problematic.
Franchise agreements and the corona crisis – dated March 20, 2020 – mr. AW Dolphin
A time of draconian measures with far-reaching consequences. There is a lot of legal uncertainty, also in franchise relationships.
Recommendations by the franchisor in general terms are permitted – dated March 6, 2020 – mr. AW Dolphin
The boundary between praise in general terms on the one hand and culpable deception and misrepresentation on the other remains a difficult issue.
Article De Nationale Franchise Gids – Know-how decisive for scope of application Franchise Act – dated 5 March 2020 – mr. RCWL Albers
It will have escaped the attention of few in the sector that on 10 February 2010 the legislative proposal for the Franchise Act was submitted to the House of Representatives.
Column Franchise+ – A conflict can be prevented, just communicate well – February 2020 – mr. AW Dolphin
Formula changes are a fascinating topic. It is often the subject of conflicts, but those conflicts can be avoided.