FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2023 filing
Curio Collection by Hilton litigation history
What Curio Collection by Hilton disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2023 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
- 8
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $75.0M
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2023
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Pending: (1) State of Nebraska v. Hilton re mandatory resort fee disclosure; (2) Destin Platinum LLC v. Hampton Inns re franchise termination. Concluded: (3) Portland Hotel Ownership counterclaim re exclusivity fraud, settled 2022; (4) San Pedro Inn re wrongful termination NJ, settled 2020; (5) Kathleen Soule Hawaii class action re resort fees, settled 2015 for $178K; (6) US v. HWI ADA Consent Decree, expired 2015; (7) Starwood v. HHC trade secret misappropriation, settled 2010 for $75M; (8) US v. Hilton Hotels Corp Sherman Act (1970), injunction entered 1971.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Active litigation across multiple categories (consumer protection, ADA compliance, trade secrets) suggests systemic operational and legal vulnerabilities
- Modest unit growth of 8.1% YoY in a 67-unit system indicates slower expansion than premium hotel franchises; no going concern statement raises sustainability questions
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?