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B55/100FDD 2025

Cait’s Estate Sales — Litigation & Risk

Other · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5

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Lower Risk

No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.

Source: FDD Items 3–5

FDD Items 3 & 4

Litigation Metrics

Cases disclosed
0
Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
—
Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
Overall risk score
55 / 100
FranchiseVerdict composite
Rating
MODERATE
STRONG / MODERATE / CAUTION / AVOID

FDD Items 5, 6 & 17 — what you give up

Contract Risk Indicators

Mandatory arbitration
Required
Disputes resolved outside court — limits your legal options
Jury trial waiver
Waived
You give up the right to a jury trial
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
Governing law
Illinois
State whose law governs disputes — relevant if you're not based there

What drove the 55/100 rating

Risk Score Breakdown

  1. 01MEDOnly 2 franchise units with unknown growth trajectory indicates extremely limited system scale and unproven scalability
  2. 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed — cannot independently verify the $596,362 average revenue claim
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability or undisclosed operational concerns at franchisor level
  4. 04MINORHigh franchise fee ($49,900) relative to system size creates significant franchisee risk with minimal brand infrastructure support
  5. 05MINOR6.5% royalty on claimed $596K revenue = ~$38,764 annual ongoing payments with only 2-unit reference base for validation

Severity inferred from FDD text — not a regulatory or legal classification

Litigation data from FDD Items 3, 4, and 5. SBA data from public 7(a) FOIA records (FY2020–present). Not legal advice — consult a franchise attorney before signing any franchise agreement.