FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing
Ace Hardware Painting Services litigation history
What Ace Hardware Painting Services disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2025 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 (litigation) & 4 (bankruptcy) at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 3
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases
- None stated
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2025
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
No litigation required to be disclosed involving the franchisor. Three concluded actions involving ultimate parent Ace Hardware Corporation were disclosed: (1) Ace Handyman Services, Inc. v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (trademark; settled 2020, $150,000 paid to plaintiff); (2) Cathay Bank v. Ace Hardware Corp. et al. (vendor/fraudulent payment claims; settled 2022, $650,000 paid by Ace Hardware); (3) Advanced Caregivers LLC d/b/a Hialeah Ace Hardware v. Ace Hardware Corp. (Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act/fraud class claims; settled 2017 at $25,000 each, dismissed with prejudice).
Item 3 (litigation) · 3 matters disclosed
Litigation cases
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (3)
Ace Handyman Services, Inc. v. Ace Hardware Corporation et al.
settledAce Hardware Corporation (ultimate parent) and AHF (affiliate) · filed 2020-02-25 · 468th Judicial District, Bexar County, Texas · 2020-CI-03722
“… (Cause No. 2020-CI-03722, 468th Judicial District Bexar County, Texas).”Page 13 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “the Plaintiff was paid $150,000 in consideration for AHF and its franchisees to immediately be permitted to use the ACE HANDYMAN SERVICES mark and the plaintiff’s agreement to discontinue its use of ACE and ACE HANDYMAN SERVICES.”
Cathay Bank v. Ace Hardware Corporation, et al.
settledBrought by a third party · Ace Hardware Corporation (ultimate parent) · filed 2017 · Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Eastern District · KC069647
“… (Case No. KC069647, Superior Court of the State California, County of Los Angeles, Eastern District.) In February 2017, Cathay Bank (“Bank”) obtained several money judgments against Sentron International, Inc.”Page 13 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Advanced Caregivers, LLC d/b/a Hialeah Ace Hardware and William Bloodworth v. Ace Hardware Corporation
settledBrought by a third party · Ace Hardware Corporation (ultimate parent) · filed 2012 · U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida · 12-20082-CIV-Williams
“… (Case No. 12-20082-CIV-Williams, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida).”Page 14 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Item 3 lists the litigation the franchisor must disclose; a matter against a parent, an affiliate or a named officer is not a matter against the franchisor, and pending claims are allegations, not findings.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Parent company litigation history includes fraud and disclosure violation allegations, creating reputational and legal exposure
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?