Wimsatt

California’s Franchise Investment Law was intended for precisely this case. The law’s statement of legislative intent declares that “California franchisees have suffered substantial losses where the franchisor or his representative has not provided full and complete information regarding the franchisor-franchisee relationship, the details of the contract between franchisor and franchisee, and the prior business experience of the franchisor.” (Corp. Code, § 31001.) And that is, indeed, what the plaintiffs have alleged here: an out-of-state franchisor, rather misleadingly named Beverly Hills Weight Loss Clinics International, Inc., made a variety of false promises to induce them to plunk down large sums of money for the privilege of operating several weight loss clinics under the Beverly Hills name and trademark complete with palm tree silhouette.

But this case is not quite as straightforward as matching statute to alleged facts. The franchisee plaintiffs signed an agreement with a forum selection clause which obligated them to sue in Virginia, the home base of the defendant franchisor. Yet a critical feature of California’s Franchise Investment Law is an antiwaiver…