AStrongest tier89/100FDD 2024
Culver's: Litigation & Risk
Quick-Service Restaurants · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Lower Risk
No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
Source: FDD Items 3–5
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 89 / 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
- 114
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 0 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $159.2M
- Avg loan size
- $1.4M
- Participating lenders
- 36
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
- Not waived
- Non-compete
- 1 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- WI
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
What drove the 89/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($2.8M-$6.9M) creates significant capital requirement and payback pressure
- 02MINOR4% royalty plus typical 2-3% marketing fund reduces net margin; at $457K avg net income, ongoing fees consume ~26% of profit
- 03MINORModest unit growth (5.8% YoY) is healthy but slower than QSR category average (8-10%), suggesting market saturation in mature regions
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.