AStrongest tier70/100FDD 2025
Ducklings Early Learning Center: Litigation & Risk
Education · 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
- 70 / 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
- 10
- 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
- $5.9M
- Avg loan size
- $587K
- Participating lenders
- 5
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Not required
- You retain the right to sue in court
- Jury trial waiver
- Waived
- You give up the right to a jury trial
- Non-compete
- 2 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
- PA
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
What drove the 70/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($993k-$2.15M) with moderate average net income ($292k) creates 3-4 year payback period at risk
- 02MINORRoyalty structure escalates from 3% to 6% after 90 days, potentially reducing profitability during critical growth phase
- 03MEDRapid expansion (37.5% YoY) with only 14 units suggests early-stage franchise system with limited operating history and unproven scalability
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed despite $1.8M average revenue claims; cannot independently verify unit economics
- 05MINORHigh variance between min/max investment ($1.16M spread) indicates inconsistent site costs or build-out standards across locations
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.