- 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.*