FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate litigation history
What Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate 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
- 10
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $83.5M
- 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
Pending: TCPA class action (Owen-Brooks). Other pending: antitrust class actions relating to NAR buyer broker commission rules (Moehrl, Burnett, Nosalek, Batton/Tuccori, Chinitz TCPA, Homie Technology, Anywhere/Compass merger litigation). Resolved: RESPA class action (Dodge/Agrawal, settled $8.375M). Regulatory: Washington AG investigation into real estate broker competition practices.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Five active antitrust class-action lawsuits directly targeting real estate commission structures and franchisor practices create existential legal/regulatory risk
- Multiple TCPA litigation cases indicate systemic compliance issues with marketing practices that could result in franchisor liability passed to franchisees
- Parent company merger litigation (Anywhere Real Estate + Compass 2026) creates uncertainty about franchisor stability, support, and strategic direction
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?