FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2023 filing
AAMCO litigation history
What AAMCO disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 3 lists the material legal actions a franchisor must report; Item 4 covers bankruptcy. This is the franchisor's own disclosure, not a court record, and not legal advice.
Items 3 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 23
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $200K
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2023
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Pending: Chambers v. Montileone Industries & AAMCO (MO, consumer fraud class re: salvaged transmissions); AAMCO v. Silverking Business Corp (JAMS arbitration to recover fees, with franchisee counterclaims). Concluded: Morristown Transmissions v. 2 JOS (settled, $200,000 from AAMCO/affiliates); Reddoch & Saylor arbitrations (Group Resolution settlement); Adeniyi & Jones (dismissed/Group Resolution); regulatory consent orders with Virginia ($10,000 penalty), Washington, Illinois ($2,000), and older multi-state/NY/MN/CA judgments. Franchisor-initiated arbitrations and court actions since 1/1/2022 (Kaur, Moffa, Putnam, Stupar, Bell, Anderson, Mullet arbitrations; Hoang and LJ Automotive collection actions; Up To Parr non-compete action) to recover past-due fees and enforce non-competes.
Disclosed in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
In January 2023, affiliate Auto Plus (IEH Auto Parts LLC) and certain related affiliates filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. No bankruptcy of AAMCO itself disclosed.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Significant litigation history including two pending consumer fraud allegations, concluded franchisee disputes over misrepresentation, and 10 franchisor enforcement actions in 2022-2023 indicate systemic relationship issues
- Going Concern status is FALSE, which is concerning for a 560-unit franchise and suggests potential franchisor financial instability or operational distress
The verdict grade is FranchiseVerdict's editorial assessment across SBA loan performance, unit growth, revenue and disclosure signals. It is not investment advice.
Before you weigh a lawsuit
How to read Item 3
A franchisor must disclose pending actions and any material civil action involving the franchise relationship, plus convictions or civil judgments for fraud, unfair or deceptive practices, or franchise-law violations, going back ten years. A case the franchisor brought against a franchisee counts too. Item 3 does not include every dispute: settled claims below the materiality line and matters resolved in private arbitration can be absent.
Questions worth asking current and former franchisees, using the contact list in Item 20:
- Were you, or anyone you know in the system, party to a dispute with the franchisor?
- Was it resolved by settlement, arbitration or a court, and on what terms?
- Has the number of disputes gone up or down since you signed?