FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Anytime Fitness litigation history
What Anytime Fitness 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 (litigation) & 4 (bankruptcy) at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 5
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases
- None stated
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed · an officer
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Item 3 (litigation) · 5 matters disclosed · 3 pending listed
Litigation cases
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Pending (3)
Anytime Fitness Iberia, S.L. v. Health & Performance S.L, Mr. Samuel Hernandez Bergada, Mr. Jorge Ramon Urieta and WETRAINGROUP S.L. and Ms. Carla Rubio Lara
pendingBrought against a franchisee · Anytime Fitness Iberia, SLU ('AFI'; Item 1: affiliate that sells Anytime Fitness franchises in Spain) · filed 2025-01-31 · Barcelona, Spain
“… filed in Barcelona, Spain, on January 31, 2025. AFI brought this lawsuit against a former franchisee and their guarantors seeking an injunction and damages for terminating the franchise agreements early and without just cause”Page 14 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Anytime Fitness Iberia, S.L. v. Sant Cugat Fitness, S.L., Reus Fitness, S.L., Mr. Joan Mana and Mr. David Balbuena
pendingBrought against a franchisee · Anytime Fitness Iberia, SLU ('AFI'; Item 1: affiliate that sells Anytime Fitness franchises in Spain) · filed 2024-07-19 · court proceeding in Barcelona, Spain
“… filed as a court proceeding in Barcelona, Spain, July 19, 2024. AFI brought this lawsuit against two former franchisees and their guarantors seeking an injunction and damages for terminating the franchise agreements early and without just cause”Page 14 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Canadas Fitness, S.L. v. Anytime Fitness Iberia, SLU
pendingBrought by a franchisee · Anytime Fitness Iberia, SLU ('AFI'; Item 1: affiliate that sells Anytime Fitness franchises in Spain) · filed 2021-11-24 · court proceeding in Barcelona, Spain
“… filed as a court proceeding in Barcelona, Spain, November 24, 2021. This lawsuit was filed against AFI, an affiliated entity licensed by us to offer, sell and provide support for Anytime Fitness franchised locations in Spain, by a former Anytime Fitness franchisee who had operated an Anytime Fitness location in Las Rozas, Spain.”Page 14 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On November 27, 2023 after a trial, the Court dismissed the case. Plaintiffs appealed this decision on January 10, 2024. On February 6, 2024 AFI submitted its opposition to the appeal.”
Concluded (2)
Illinois v. The Bar Method Franchising Inc. and The Bar Method Inc.
judgmentGovernment or regulatory action · The Bar Method Franchising Inc. and The Bar Method Inc. (TBM and TBMLLC) · filed 2009-02-09 · Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois · 2009CH 0125
“… (Case No. 2009CH 0125, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois, filed February 9, 2009). The Illinois Attorney General brought this action against Defendants, alleging the agreement between TBM and an Illinois resident that TBM assigned to TBMLLC in January 2008 constituted a franchise that was not registered”Page 15 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On February 9, 2009, Defendants agreed to the entry of a Final Judgment and Consent Decree in which, while not admitting any liability, Defendants agreed to the entry of a permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants from offering or selling franchises in Illinois without being registered as a franchisor”
In the Matter of the Investigation by Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of the State of New York, of The Bar Method Inc. and Carl Diehl (Assurance No. 08-108)
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · The Bar Method Inc. (TBM) and Carl Diehl, its Vice President · Attorney General of the State of New York · Assurance No. 08-108
“… On April 2, 2009, TBM and Mr. Diehl, as its Vice President, entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) under which, without admitting any violation of the law, they agreed to offer rescission”Page 15 of the 2026 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.
Disclosed in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Thomas Leverton, CEO of parent companies Purpose Brands Holdings, LLC and Purpose Brands Intermediate, LLC, was previously CEO of CEC Entertainment, Inc. (Chuck E. Cheese) which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2020, approximately 4 months after Leverton left; plan of reorganization confirmed Dec 2020.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Litigation exposure: Spain franchisee breach-of-duty lawsuit on appeal + affiliate regulatory actions (Illinois/New York) indicate FDD disclosure and compliance vulnerabilities
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?