The director may by order deny, suspend, or revoke any exemption from registration otherwise available under RCW 19.100.030 for the offer or sale of the franchise if he or she finds that the order is in the public interest and that:

Washington Code 19.100.010

Franchise broker: means a person who directly or indirectly engages in the business of the offer or sale of franchises. See Washington Code 19.100.010

Franchisor: means a person who grants a franchise to another person. See Washington Code 19.100.010

Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.

Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.

Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

Person: means a natural person, corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity and in the case of an entity, it shall include any other entity which has a majority interest in such an entity or effectively controls such other entity as well as the individual officers, directors, and other persons in act of control of the activities of each such entity. See Washington Code 19.100.010

(1) Any provision of this chapter or any rule or order or condition lawfully imposed under this chapter has been violated or is about to be violated in connection with the offering by the franchisor, any partner, officer, or director of a franchisor, or any person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions or any person directly or indirectly controlled by the franchisor, or any franchise broker offering or selling the offering;

(2) The franchise offering is the subject of a permanent or temporary injunction of a court of competent jurisdiction entered under any federal or state act applicable to the offering; but (a) the director may not enter an order of revocation or suspension under this subsection more than one year from the date of the injunction relied on, and (b) the director may not enter an order under this subsection on the basis of an injunction unless that injunction was based on facts that currently constitute a ground for an order under this section;

(3) The franchisor’s enterprise or method of business includes or would include activities which are illegal where performed;

(4) The offering has worked or tended to work or would tend to work a fraud on purchasers;

(5) The franchisor has failed to pay the required filing fee for a claim of exemption but the director may enter only a denial order under this subsection and shall vacate such order when the deficiency has been corrected;

(6) The franchisor has made a claim of exemption which is incomplete in a material respect or contains any statement which in the light of the circumstances under which it was made is false or misleading with respect to any material fact.