FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing
Cookie Plug litigation history
What Cookie Plug 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 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 2
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- 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
1) Ryan Usrey et al v. Christopher Wyland, Erik Martinez et al - corporate ownership dispute filed Oct 2022, settled Nov 2022. 2) Lotus Leaf LLC et al v. Sharon M. Leite et al (Michigan, 2025) - Vitamin Shoppe franchisee suit against former Vitamin Shoppe employees including Cookie Plug's President Denker, not related to Cookie Plug system.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Going Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or undisclosed operational issues at corporate level
- Two active litigation cases involving franchise law violations and corporate ownership disputes create legal uncertainty and reputational risk
- Litigation involving David Denker and alleged Michigan Franchise Investment Law violations suggest potential corporate compliance gaps that could expose franchisees to legal liability
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?