FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Clean Juice litigation history
What Clean Juice 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
- 4
- 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
Item 3 discloses four concluded/pending matters: two franchisee mediation/termination disputes (A3 Management, Inc.; DMW Whole Organics, LLC); an SEC enforcement action against CEO Sherif Mityas individually (2012, unrelated to franchise operations); and a former franchisee lawsuit (CHNC I, LLC v. Clean Juice Franchising, LLC et al.) alleging FDD disclosure deficiencies, dismissed with prejudice against CJ Fresh Holdings, LLC in April 2025.
Item 3 (litigation) · 4 matters disclosed
Litigation cases
The franchisor
Concluded (2)
A3 Management, Inc.
concludedBrought by a franchisee · filed 2024
“… In September 2024, Franchisee sent Franchisor a notice of intent to close prematurely terminating the Franchise Agreement and demanded mediation pursuant to the Franchise Agreement.”Page 11 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
DMW Whole Organics, LLC.
concludedBrought by a franchisee · filed 2024
“… In October 2024, Franchisee sent Franchisor a notice of intent to close prematurely terminating the Franchise Agreement and demanded mediation pursuant to the Franchise Agreement.”Page 11 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (1)
CHNC I, LLC v. Clean Juice Franchising, LLC, CJ Fresh Holdings, LLC, Landon Eckles, Caitlyn Eckles, David Cuff, Tripp Setliff and Collin Eckles
dismissedBrought by a franchisee · CJ Fresh Holdings, LLC (our parent) and Clean Juice Franchising, LLC · filed 2024 · Circuit Court for the County of Oakland, Michigan · 2024-211191-CB
“… (Case No. 2024-211191-CB, Circuit Court for the County of Oakland, Michigan).”Page 11 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On April 28, 2025, Plaintiff’s Complaint against CJ Fresh Holdings, LLC was dismissed with prejudice and without costs. Other than the above actions, no litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.”
Officers and directors (individuals, not the company)
Concluded (1)
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sherif Mityas
judgmentGovernment or regulatory action · Sherif Mityas (our Chief Executive Officer, Item 2) · filed 2012 · US District Court-Eastern District of New York · 12- cv-1281 (CBA)
“… US District Court-Eastern District of New York, ECF Case: 12- cv-1281 (CBA).”Page 11 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
- Multiple settled termination disputes indicate franchisor-franchisee relationship problems and potential operational or support deficiencies
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?