FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing

Domino's Pizza litigation history

What Domino's Pizza 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: 3; 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

Pending: (1) State of Rhode Island Office of General Treasurer securities class action (Case No. 2:24-CV-12477) alleging false/misleading statements about global net store growth guidance; (2-6) Five derivative lawsuits (Ayers, Joshi, Kassner, Chu, Walker Derivative Lawsuits) alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and insider trading by directors/officers, stayed pending outcome of securities action; (7) several undisclosed labor and employment joint employer lawsuits. No concluded actions required disclosure.

Item 3 (litigation) · 3 matters disclosed · 3 pending listed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Pending (1)

Several labor and employment lawsuits brought by employees of our franchisees, alleging that we are joint employers with our franchisees
pending
“DPL has been named as a defendant in several labor and employment lawsuits brought by employees of our franchisees, alleging that we are joint employers with our franchisees.”Page 20 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “We strongly disagree with the joint employment allegations and intend to vigorously defend these actions.”

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Pending (1)

State of Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer, individually and on behalf of all similarly situated persons v. Domino's Pizza, Inc., Russell J. Weiner, and Sandeep Reddy
pending
Government or regulatory action · Domino's Pizza, Inc. (and officers Russell J. Weiner and Sandeep Reddy) · filed 2024-09-20 · United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan · 2:24-CV-12477-LVP-APP
“State of Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer, individually and on behalf of all similarly situated persons v. Domino”Page 18 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “Defendants intend to vigorously defend these claims.” (page 19)

Officers and directors (individuals, not the company)

Pending (1)

Patrick Ayers, Derivatively on behalf of Domino's Pizza, Inc. v. Russell Weiner, et al. (Ayers Derivative Lawsuit), together with the Joshi, Kassner, Chu and Walker Derivative Lawsuits (collectively the Derivative Lawsuits)
pending
Brought by a third party · Directors and certain executive officers of Domino's Pizza, Inc. (the Individual Defendants), with Domino's Pizza, Inc. as nominal defendant · filed 2025 · United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Ayers, Joshi, Walker) and 22nd Judicial Circuit, Washtenaw County, Michigan (Kassner, Chu) · 2:25-cv-10289-SJM-APP (Ayers); 2:25-cv-10704-GAD-EAS (Joshi); 25-000482-CB (Kassner); 25-001352-CB (Chu); 2:26-cv-10501
“the plaintiffs in the Derivative Lawsuits filed complaints derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant Domino”Page 20 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The Derivative Lawsuits have been stayed pending the outcome of a motion to dismiss the Defendants have filed in the Rhode Island securities action.”

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

Significant litigation including securities class action, derivative lawsuits, and joint employer claims creates legal/operational uncertainty
Joint employer litigation could increase labor compliance costs and corporate liability exposure for franchisees

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?

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