Orange County Franchise Dispute Lawyer
The Kinder Law Group has substantial experience representing franchisees with both pre-purchase evaluations and litigating franchise disputes that arise in franchise relationships. Our attorneys are among a select few California lawyers who have actually taken a franchise dispute all the way through to a full jury trial. In fact, The Kinder Law Group achieved one of the largest jury verdicts in the State of California that included punitive damages against both the company and the owner of the company personally. If you have a dispute involving a franchise, give us a call to discuss your options. Whether you are the franchisor or the franchisee, we regularly provide guidance to clients on the complex franchise laws that apply to their situations.
Franchise Laws
Cal. Corp. Code § 31200: It is unlawful for any person willfully to make any untrue statement of a material fact in any application, notice or report filed with the commissioner under this law, or willfully to omit to state in any such application, notice, or report any material fact which is required to be stated therein, or fail to notify the commissioner of any material change as required by Section 31123.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31201: It is unlawful for any person to offer or sell a franchise in this state by means of any written or oral communication not enumerated in Section 31200 which includes an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31202: It is unlawful for any person willfully to make any untrue statement of a material fact in any statement required to be disclosed in writing pursuant to Section 31101, or willfully to omit to state in any such statement any material fact which is required to be stated therein.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31203: It is unlawful for any person to violate any order of the commissioner or condition to the effectiveness of the registration of the offer or sale of franchises.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31204: (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, cover up, falsify, or make a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the administration or enforcement of any provision of this division; (b) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make an untrue statement to the commissioner during the course of licensing, investigation, or examination, with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the administration or enforcement of any provision of this division.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31210: It is unlawful for any person to effect or attempt to effect a sale of a franchise in this state, except in transactions exempted under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 31100) of Part 2 of this division, unless such person is: (1) identified in an application or amended application filed with the commissioner pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 31100) of this division, (2) licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson, or (3) licensed by the commissioner as a broker-dealer or agent pursuant to the Corporate Securities Law of 1968.
Cal. Corp. Code § 31220: It shall be a violation of this division for any franchisor, directly or indirectly, through any officer, agent or employee, to restrict or inhibit the right of franchisees to join a trade association or to prohibit the right of free association among franchisees for any lawful purposes. Notwithstanding Section 31410, a violation of this section shall not constitute a crime.
