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 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 5
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $1.9M
- 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
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).
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?