Country Inn & Suites by Radisson: Litigation & Risk
Lodging · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Moderate: Review
3 cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 3
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 61 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- A
- A / B / C / D / F verdict grade
7(a) FOIA data · FY2020–present
SBA Loan Performance
Aggregated from public SBA 7(a) loan disclosures. Charge-off rate is the share of loans that were charged off or settled for less than the full balance.
- Total 7(a) loans
- 243
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 12.1%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 21 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $458.5M
- Avg loan size
- $1.9M
- Participating lenders
- 60
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
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- No
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- MD
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
Three pending cases including a Canadian class action re destination marketing fees, a stayed multi-plaintiff discrimination/antitrust suit with related arbitration, and a Florida breach-of-contract/trade-secrets case. Franchisor initiated many actions in prior year to recover royalties. Largest resolved adverse judgment was $779,398.
What drove the 61/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.9% YoY) indicates system contraction and market saturation concerns
- 02HIGHMultiple material litigations including RICO/antitrust allegations by franchisees suggest systemic franchisor-franchisee relationship problems
- 03MINOR84 royalty collection actions in one year demonstrates widespread franchisee financial distress and payment defaults
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not provided) prevents informed ROI analysis on $678K-$15.9M investment range
- 05HIGHClass action litigation regarding destination marketing fees suggests hidden or unexpected fee structures impacting franchisee profitability
- 06MINORGuest data misappropriation lawsuit raises operational and legal compliance risks
- 07MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other Country Inn & Suites locations and cannibalization of market revenue
- 08HIGHHigh litigation volume (4 material cases resolved + multiple pending) indicates contentious franchisor practices and dispute resolution patterns
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.