FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Five Star Painting litigation history
What Five Star Painting 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
- 5
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases
- $8K
- As stated in Item 3
- 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
1) FSP SPV v. TDS Home LLC et al. (2024) - suit for past due fees with counterclaim for fraud/FIPA violations; 2) TDS Home Services v. Pulido-Barajas and FSP SPV (2025) - third-party complaint re discrimination/non-competition enforcement; 3) FSP SPV v. Robert Zalkin (2025) - suit to collect monies owed. Also disclosed: administrative order involving affiliate FOR Franchising LLC (Window Genie) for CA franchise law violation in 2017.
Item 3 (litigation) · 5 matters disclosed · 2 pending listed
Litigation cases
The franchisor and its predecessor
Pending (2)
TDS Home Services, LLC; Tom Sternod and Lisa Sternod v. Homero Pulido-Barajas and Erica Pulido-Barajas; Five Star Painting SPV LLC
pendingBrought by a franchisee · filed 2025-09-15 · Superior Court of Washington for the County of King · 25-2-12302-2 SEA
“… Case No. 25-2- 12302-2 SEA, on September 15, 2025, in the Superior Court of Washington for the County of King, Washington.”Page 22 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Five Star Painting SPV LLC v. TDS Home, LLC, Tommy David Sternod, and Lisa Lundberg Sternod
pendingBrought against a franchisee · filed 2024-07-05 · 74th Judicial District Court, McLennan County, Texas · 2024-1732-3
“… Case No. 2024-1732-3, filed on July 5, 2024, in the 74th Judicial District Court, McLennan County, Texas.”Page 22 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Concluded (1)
State of Illinois (Attorney General) investigation and Consent Judgment against Predecessor (no caption printed)
judgmentGovernment or regulatory action · Five Star Painting LLC (Predecessor) · filed 2010 · Illinois Attorney General
“In April 2010, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office commenced an investigation into Predecessor’s sale of a franchise to Illinois residents in January 2008 when Predecessor was not registered to do so.”Page 22 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “paid a $7,500 penalty to the state of Illinois. In last year’s Disclosure Document, we disclosed the following lawsuit as litigation by us against franchisees in 2024: Five Star Painting SPV LLC v. TDS Home, LLC, Tommy David Sternod, and Lisa Lundberg Sternod, Case No. 2024-1732-3, filed on July 5, 2024, in the 74th Judicial District Court, McLennan County, Texas.”
Status not stated in the filing (1)
Five Star Painting SPV LLC v. Robert Zalkin, Five Star Painting of Bedford and New Canaan
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2025-08-27 · District Court, McLennan County, Texas · 2025-2599-3
“… Case No. 2025-2599-3, filed on August 27, 2025, in the District Court, McLennan County, Texas.”Page 23 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (1)
The Commissioner of Business Oversight of the State of California v. FOR Franchising LLC d/b/a Window Genie and Richard Nonelle
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · FOR Franchising LLC (a predecessor to our affiliate Window Genie) · filed 2017-11-14 · California Department of Business Oversight
“The Commissioner of Business Oversight of the State of California v. FOR Franchising LLC d/b/a Window Genie and Richard Nonelle.”Page 23 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “FOR would pay an administrative penalty in the total amount of $5,000 (which amount FOR paid) and (c) within 90 days of the date of the Consent Order, Mr. Nonelle and all persons employed by FOR who assist in preparing franchise registrations or who assist in franchise selling would attend remedial education of eight hours of franchise law training courses per person (which requirement has been completed).”
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.
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?