When does a franchisor go too far when recruiting franchisees?
In the judgment of the Court of Appeal of Arnhem-Leeuwarden on 5 February 2019, ECLI:NL:GHARL:2019:1024 the issue was whether the franchisor had acted impermissibly when recruiting the franchisees. The franchisor, Otto Simon, was accused of persuading the franchisees to enter into a franchise agreement for the exploitation of the Top1Toys through misleading texts on the franchisor’s website.
The franchisees are particularly concerned with the following passages on the website:
The franchisees emphasized that the franchisor is the expert in this case and that they could simply rely on the statements on the website.
The Court finds that the text on the franchisor’s website is aimed at potential franchisees and that therefore the assessment of whether this publication is misleading must be based on the knowledge and imagination of an averagely informed and observant (prospective) entrepreneur. The average commercial public should be aware of, and therefore not be influenced by, the fact that advertising often has a certain exaggeration. Against the background of those principles, the court does not consider the statements on the website of the franchisor to be misleading.
mr. AW Dolphin – franchise lawyer
Ludwig & Van Dam Franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice. Do you want to respond? Go to dolphijn@ludwigvandam.nl
Other messages
Franchise Act will take effect on January 1, 2021 – mr. AW Dolphijn – dated December 3, 2020
The Franchise Act was already adopted on July 1, 2020, but it has now also been established by Royal Decree that the Franchise Act will enter into force on January 1, 2021.
Supermarket newsletter -29-
Supermarket newsletter -29-
Article Franchiseplus: “Divide the pain” – mr. Th.R. Ludwig – dated December 1, 2020
The corona crisis has brought many franchisors and franchisees into ...
Article De Nationale Franchise Gids: “Settlement problems with franchisee who is a general partnership” – mr. JAJ Devilee – dated November 30, 2020
In a recent dispute, two ex-spouses faced each other in an appeal procedure regarding the question whether the ex-wife forfeited penalty payments against the private company.
Article Franchise+ – “Recipient’s liability in a franchise context, what exactly is that about?” – mr. K. Bastiaans – dated November 24, 2020
The phenomenon of hirer's liability means that a third party can be held liable for the debts of another under certain conditions.
Franchisor liable for errors made by a franchisee? – mr. AW Dolphijn – dated November 23, 2020
A franchise organization asked the court to declare that the franchisor is not liable if a franchisee has made a serious mistake with a customer.