• The IABF Chapter Legal Fund serves several important purposes: Primarily, the legal fund (sometimes  called an Investment Fund) is intended to fund the engagement of common legal counsel to support  and defend participants’ rights and interests in a manner no individual owner could consider doing. 
  • Another primary purpose of the legal fund is to aggregate promises of certain sums over time  (pledges) to send a signal to management (or any would be adversary) that the trust has the  wherewithal to protect and defend participant interests. For example, if 100 trust participants each  pledge (sign a commitment) to contribute up to $10,000 each over three years, the aggregate of  pledged commitments would total $1,000,000, and would hopefully create respect for the  Association, deter litigation and encourage more collaboration. This has proven to be very true over  many years of experience.  
  • By funding a separate trust, we can provide better protections for the participants, and the trustees  who have the authority to spend trust assets. Because participation in the trust is usually voluntary  (not a requirement of membership), the trust assets can be spent in favor of the participants, and not  for the benefit of all members. 

Accomplishments:

  • Ongoing Review of FDD (Franchise Disclosure Documents) Ensuring they meet state and federal regulations

*If you are interested in participating in the IABF Legal Fund Trust or receiving more information, please contact the IABF Chapter Coordinator, Maija Norwood, at maija.norwood@aafd.org.*