FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing

Bni litigation history

What Bni 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): 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

One pending federal suit (BNI v. Network In Action, trade secrets/trademark, filed 2024, unresolved) plus four prior resolved matters: an ICDR arbitration and related Bombay High Court suit with former India master franchisees over non-renewal (settled, BNI paid $1.9M each to two claimants), a California class-style suit over non-renewal (settled via new agreement), and an ICDR arbitration with former China/Hong Kong/Taiwan/Macau master franchisees over renewal rights (settled, BNI paid $680,000 and up to $1,470,000 for territory rights).

Item 3 (litigation) · 5 matters disclosed · 1 pending listed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Pending (1)

BNI Franchising, LLC and BNI Global, LLC v. Network In Action Intl., LLC
pending
Brought by the franchisor · filed 2024-08-22 · U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas · 4:24-cv-03126
“… No. 4:24-cv-03126 (S.D. Tex. filed August 22, 2024).”Page 16 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3

Concluded (1)

David Alexander et al. v. BNI Franchising, LLC, et al.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2016-10-19 · Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles · BC638105
“… Case No. BC638105, Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, filed October 19, 2016.”Page 17 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Concluded (3)

Andrew Hall; Jihong Hall; BNI China, Ltd.; BNI South, Ltd.; and BNI, Ltd. v. BNI Worldwide Development, Ltd.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · BNI Worldwide Development Ltd. (affiliate) · filed 2017-10-10 · International Centre for Dispute Resolution · 01-17-0006-0879
“… Case No. 01-17-0006-0879 (International Centre for Dispute Resolution (“ICDR”)).”Page 18 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
BNI Training Services Pvt. Ltd. and Niraj Shah v. BNI Worldwide Development Ltd., Mahesh Srinivasan, Murali Srinivasan, and Nirupam Patel
concluded
Brought by a franchisee · BNI Worldwide Development Ltd. (affiliate) · filed 2016-02-16 · High Court of Judicature at Bombay · Suit No. 752 of 2016
“BNI Training Services Pvt. Ltd. and Niraj Shah v. BNI Worldwide Development Ltd., Mahesh Srinivasan, Murali Srinivasan, and Nirupam Patel;”Page 17 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Nirupam S. Patel v. BNI Worldwide Development Limited and BNI Global Franchise Corporation Limited; BNI Global Franchise Corporation Limited v. Nirupam S. Patel, Niraj Shah, and BNI Training Services Private, Ltd.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · BNI Worldwide Development Ltd. (affiliate) · filed 2016-07-11 · International Centre for Dispute Resolution · 01-16-0002-8101
“Nirupam S. Patel v. BNI Worldwide Development Limited and BNI Global Franchise Corporation Limited; BNI Global Franchise Corporation Limited v. Nirupam S. Patel, Niraj Shah, and BNI Training Services Private, LTD, International Centre for Dispute Resolution Case No. 01-16-0002-8101, filed July 11, 2016.”Page 16 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.

Disclosure signals that moved the score

How this shows up in the verdict

Pending litigation for tortious interference and trademark infringement creates legal and operational uncertainty

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?

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