FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing

Cheer Athletics litigation history

What Cheer Athletics 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: 3; Item 3, as counted in the filing

Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases: None stated

Bankruptcy (Item 4): Disclosed; Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer

Filing year: 2026; Disclosures cover the prior ten years

Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document

Item 3: litigation

3 cases, all involving sexual abuse allegations by former athletes against employees/affiliates: (1) Gerlacher v. Cheer Athletics et al. (2021, stayed due to affiliate bankruptcy); (2) Jane Doe 1 & 2 v. Cheer Athletics et al. (2021, dismissed 12/21/2023 via confidential settlement); (3) Jane HK Doe v. USASF et al. (2020, dismissed 10/13/2022 via confidential settlement).

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

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Pending (1)

Hannah Gerlacher and Jessica Gerlacher v. Cheer Athletics, Inc., Cheer Athletics-Plano, LLC, Cheer Athletics-Frisco, LLC, Cheer Athletics Holdings, LLC, Cheer Athletics Brands, LLC, United States All Star Federation, and Jason McCartney
pending
Brought by a third party · filed 2021-07-19 · 126th District Court, Travis County, Texas · D-1-GN-21003338
“… (Cause No. D-1-GN-21003338).”Page 11 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3

Concluded (1)

Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 v. Cheer Athletics, Inc., Cheer Athletics Holdings, LLC, Cheer Athletics-Plano, Inc., and Jason McCartney
settled
Brought by a third party · filed 2021-12-21 · 194th District Court, Dallas County, Texas · DC-21-17919
“… (Cause No. DC-21-17919).”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The case was dismissed on December 21, 2023 in conjunction with a confidential settlement agreement. Jane HK Doe, individually and on behalf of John HS Doe, a minor, and John HC Doe, a minor v. United States All Star Federation, Inc., Varsity Spirit, LLC, Cheer Athletics, Inc., Angela Rogers, Jeremiah Harris, and Doe Defendants 1-100, (Cause No. 048-319785-20).”

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Concluded (1)

Jane HK Doe, individually and on behalf of John HS Doe, a minor, and John HC Doe, a minor v. United States All Star Federation, Inc., Varsity Spirit, LLC, Cheer Athletics, Inc., Angela Rogers, Jeremiah Harris, and Doe Defendants 1-100
settled
Brought by a third party · Cheer Athletics, Inc. (now Cheer Athletics-Plano, Inc., affiliate) and Angela Rogers (manager) · filed 2020-09-14 · 471st District Court, Tarrant County, Texas · 048-319785-20
“… (Cause No. 048-319785-20).”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The case was dismissed on October 13, 2022 in conjunction with a confidential settlement agreement. Other than these actions, no litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.”

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

Affiliate Cheer Athletics-Plano, Inc. filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 2, 2025 (Case No. 25-43320, Eastern District of Texas). No plan for reorganization filed as of FDD issuance. Did not involve franchisor or franchise system directly.

Disclosure signals that moved the score

How this shows up in the verdict

Active sexual abuse and negligence litigation across multiple affiliates with vicarious liability claims indicates systemic supervision/hiring vulnerabilities in a youth-serving business
Affiliate bankruptcy and stayed litigation indicate financial fragility within the franchise system itself

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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