FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing

Great Harvest litigation history

What Great Harvest 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: $17K; 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

Two franchisor-initiated suits against former franchisees for breach of contract/trademark infringement (Golden Wheat settled for $17,000; Green settled for $9,996.79 plus $25,332.39 note); affiliate Duck Donuts Holdings entered a consent order with California DFPI paying a $5,000 penalty.

Item 3 (litigation) · 3 matters disclosed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Concluded (2)

Great Harvest Franchising, Inc. v. Gregory Andrew Williams Green and Kimberly Elaine Green
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2024-05-13 · U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · CV-24-32-BU-BMM
“… Case No. CV-24-32-BU-BMM) in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, filed on May 13, 2024.”Page 9 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “Thereafter, the parties engaged in settlement negotiations, which resulted in the settlement of the matter on May 31, 2024.”
Great Harvest Franchising, Inc. v. Golden Wheat, LLC et al.
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2022-07-07 · U.S. District Court for the District of Montana · 2:22-cv-00064-BMM
“… Case No. 2:22-cv-00064- BMM) in the United States District Court for the District of Montana, filed on October 7, 2022.”Page 9 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “We agreed to settle the case by paying the former franchisee $17,000 in exchange for releases of any and all further claims, and the case was dismissed on July 31, 2023.”

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Concluded (1)

In the Matter of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation v. Duck Donuts Holdings, LLC
concluded
Government or regulatory action · Duck Donuts Holdings, LLC · filed 2022-01-26 · California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation
“… (State of California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation).”Page 10 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “to pay a penalty of $5,000. Other than the above matters, no litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item. ITEM 4: BANKRUPTCY No bankruptcies are required to be disclosed in this Item.”

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

Multiple active litigations (breach of contract, trademark infringement) suggest franchisor enforcement issues and franchisee disputes
No going concern statement absent, which may indicate marginal franchisor financial health

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?

Back to the Great Harvest verdict Risk analysis on the brand page Franchisee contacts for due-diligence calls