1-800-radiator: Litigation & Risk
Automotive · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Moderate: Review
4 cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 4
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 56 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- B
- A / B / C / D / F verdict grade
7(a) FOIA data · FY2020–present
SBA Loan Performance
Aggregated from public SBA 7(a) loan disclosures. Charge-off rate is the share of loans that were charged off or settled for less than the full balance.
- Total 7(a) loans
- 65
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 23.4%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 15 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $14.6M
- Avg loan size
- $224K
- Participating lenders
- 31
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Required
- Disputes resolved outside court, limits your legal options
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- California
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
No litigation against 1-800-Radiator itself. Item 3 discloses 5 pending securities/derivative actions against parent Driven Brands Holdings and its officers (Genesee, Terwilliger, Gaiman, Kalimon, Bushansky - all alleging failure to disclose info resulting in misstatements about Driven Brands Holdings business/prospects), plus a Maaco franchisee breach-of-contract suit (PJC Management) against affiliate Maaco/Driven Brands/Driven Systems, and historical settled affiliate actions (ARG/Arby's no-poach, Dunkin' no-poach and NY data breach settlements). None allege wrongdoing by 1-800-Radiator or affect the brand directly.
Litigation data from FDD Items 3, 4, and 5. SBA data from public 7(a) FOIA records (FY2020–present). Not legal advice. Consult a franchise attorney before signing any franchise agreement.