Franchise Issues - Need to Find A Lawyer?

[janandpeter]

Hello, we are a couple who were made redundant under the government restructuring program about eight month ago. We took the payout and immediately went and purchased a popular franchise shop in a high end shopping centre. The whole purchase and ingoing appeared straightforward, but now we are in a problematic situation.

Our landlord has declared bankruptcy and the administrators who are handling the building now have said that our lease has to be renegotiated with them, or else we have to vacate. Because we thought it would be too expensive to engage a lawyer when we were buying the franchise, we just went and payed the money out for the franchise because it was just sitting in the bank and although we had to borrow a small amount ($115,000) against our home, we felt we were astute enough to know all the problem areas. In hindsight, we should have gone to a specialised law firm, if there is one, and I guess we would not be in this insolvency pickle now. What do we do now?

 

[John R]

Hi Jan and Peter,

1. Your Franchise Agreement may require you to notify your franchisor of the landlord situation ASAP.
2. You should contact a lawyer with Property Law and/or Franchise Law expertise. I may be able to provide some suggestions. Where are you located?

 

[janandpeter]

Thankyou so much, we are located in Melbourne CBD

 

[John R]

Hi Jan and Peter,
You may consider using the Law Institute of Victoria's (LIV) Referral Service to find a Victorian lawyer near the Melbourne CBD with appropriate commercial property and franchise law experience. All the best.

 

[Rod]

My reply might be late, just new here.

I've used this guy before for franchising matters. HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, Level 26, 530 Collins Street. Very pricey but good.

Peter van Rompaey
Partner
Phone: +61 3 8644 3506
Email: [email protected]

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[ippartnership]

Almost always, a franchise agreement has a set duration. Once or twice being renewed is typically achievable but never assured. Because of this, franchisees' desire and goal-setting might be sharpened by the built-in deadline. Making a company plan requires establishing specific objectives and deadlines. Goals are attained, modified, and developed as the firm grows, all within a framework that enables franchisees to make future plans. These elements are essential to the franchising sector. Anyone operating this kind of business should consult intellectual property or franchising lawyers before starting operations.