FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Ace Handyman Services litigation history
What Ace Handyman Services disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2026 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
- 5
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $1.1M
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Item 3 discloses 5 distinct cases. Involving the franchisor: (1) Elizabeth Hessler v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2025, Cook County IL) — pending consumer/construction-defect action naming franchisor, parent, and two franchisees; motion to dismiss filed. (2) Ace Handyman Services, Inc. v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (2020, Bexar County TX) — concluded trademark dispute, settled April 2020 for $150,000 paid to plaintiff. Parent (Ace Hardware) actions: (3) Cathay Bank v. Ace Hardware Corp. (LA Superior Court) — concluded, settled May 2022 ($1.1M total, $650,000 by Ace Hardware). (4) Advanced Caregivers/Hialeah Ace Hardware v. Ace Hardware Corp. (S.D. Fla.) — concluded class action, settled $25,000 each plaintiff, dismissed 2017. (5) The Hessler and Ace Handyman Services TX cases are cross-referenced under the parent's litigation but are the same cases as above.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Active consumer litigation for defective work quality—core business risk exposure
- Trademark infringement settlement in Texas indicates brand/operational vulnerabilities
- Parent company fraud allegations involving franchisees raise system integrity concerns
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?