FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Graduate by Hilton litigation history
What Graduate by Hilton 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 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 10
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $2.1M
- 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
Pending: Bow Hospitality (RI, breach of contract - Hampton termination); In re Extended Stay Hotel Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Cal., Sherman Act class action); Hanson Dai v. SAS Institute (N.D. Cal., Sherman Act class action); Ryan Segal v. Amadeus IT Group (N.D. Ill., Sherman Act class action); Jeanette Portillo v. CoStar Group (W.D. Wash., Sherman Act class action). Concluded: AAAA Property Partners (M.D. Fla., settled 2025); State of Texas v. Hilton (settled 2025, $2.1M); State of Nebraska v. Hilton (settled 2024, $300K); Hilton Franchise Holding LLC v. Portland Hotel Ownership (settled 2022); San Pedro Inn v. Hilton Franchise Holding (settled 2020). Collection suits in 2025: ML Plaza Owner (VA), Unique Crowne Hospitality (E.D. Va.), Empower Metro Center (VA). Also historical: U.S. v. Hilton Hotels Corporation (1970 Sherman Act, consent decree).
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Multiple pending antitrust lawsuits regarding revenue management software and data sharing create operational and financial liability exposure
- History of concluded litigation over deceptive guest fee practices and franchise termination disputes indicates systemic franchisee-franchisor conflict
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?