FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing

Chick-fil-A litigation history

What Chick-fil-A disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2025 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: 6; 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: 2025; Disclosures cover the prior ten years

Extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document

Item 3: litigation

Data breach class action (Stephens/Strawn) settled for $210,000; five consolidated delivery-fee misrepresentation class actions (Mayheu, Pittman, Ukpere, Goldstein, Ortega) settled for $4,400,000; Brown delivery-fee class action settled for $129,000 plus arbitration settlements of $58,500. No franchisees named as defendants in any case.

Item 3 (litigation) · 6 matters disclosed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Concluded (6)

David Stephens and Kaitlyn Strawn, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2023-03-06 · U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · 1:23-cv-00964
“David Stephens and Kaitlyn Strawn, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Chick-fil- A, Inc., (Case No. 1:23-cv-00964, U.S. District Court for the”Page 24 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “the three named Plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice and the case was dismissed wit”
Goldstein v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2022-06-21 · United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida; removed from the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida · 1:22-cv-21897; 2022-009265-CA-01
“… No. 1:22-cv-21897, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, filed on June 21, 2022, as amended on August 11, 2022; removed from the Circuit Co”Page 24 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Mayheu v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2022-05-24 · Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia · 2022CV365400
“… No. 2022CV365400, Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, filed on May 24, 2022, as amended on June 7, 2022, August 5,”Page 24 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On February 29, 2024, the court in the Mayheu Action entered an Order Granting Final Approval of a Proposed Class Action Settlemen” (page 25)
Ukpere v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2022-09-02 · United States District Court for the District of New Jersey; removed from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County · 2:22-cv-5397; MID-L-003792
“… No. 2:22-cv-5397, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, filed on September 2, 2022; removed from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County,”Page 24 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Ortega v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2021-05-10 · United States District Court for the Eastern District of California; removed from Sacramento Superior Court · 2:21-cv-845; 34-2021-00296245
“… No. 2:21-cv-845, United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, filed on May 10, 2021, as amended on November 15, 2021; removed from Sacramento Super”Page 24 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Pittman and Ukpere v. Chick-fil-A, Inc.
concluded
Brought by a third party · filed 2021-09-28 · United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (appealed to the Second Circuit as Case No. 22-1862) · 1:21-cv-8041
“… No. 1:21-cv-8041, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (appealed to the Second Circuit as Case No. 22-1862), filed on S”Page 24 of the 2025 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

Recent litigation history (cybersecurity and delivery fee class actions) indicates compliance and transparency issues

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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