California Amends Franchise Law: What Restaurants Need to Know | Modern Restaurant Management | The Business of Eating & Restaurant Management News

On January 1, 2023, Assembly Bill (“AB”) 676 went into effect, significantly amending the California Franchise Relations Act and Franchise Investment Law. These provisions will apply to franchise agreements entered into, amended or renewed on or after January 1, 2023. If the amendment was initiated by the franchisee and the amendment does not adversely impact the franchisee’s rights, that amendment is not subject to AB 676.

AB 676 prohibits franchise agreements from including a provision requiring the franchisee to disclaim their reliance on representations made by the franchisor or its agents and reliance on the

franchise disclosure documents. It adds section 31512.1 of the Corporations Code, which provides that these provisions are void as contrary to the state’s public policy. This means that if a provision in a franchise agreement or disclosure document requires a franchisee to disclaim and deny that they relied on representations made by the franchisor or made…

Pooja S. Nair

A partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP, Pooja S. Nair is a business litigator and problem solver with a focus on the food and beverage sector. She advises food and beverage clients, startups and other businesses on a comprehensive range of issues, including employment, trade secrets, partnership disputes, contract negotiations and intellectual property.

Nair focuses on finding creative, long-term solutions to the business problems affecting companies of all sizes, from startups to publicly traded entities. She combines litigation experience with a strategic perspective, so that legal decisions make sense on a business level.

Prior to joining ECJ, Nair practiced at TroyGould, where she was the head of the Food and Beverage practice group. She also spent five years at Foley & Lardner focused on white collar criminal defense and internal investigations.

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Pooja S. Nair