Honest1 Auto Care: Litigation & Risk
Automotive · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Moderate: Review
2 cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 2
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 63 / 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
- 56
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 9.5%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- 13.3%
- Defaults
- 4 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $25.3M
- Avg loan size
- $452K
- Participating lenders
- 27
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
- Not waived
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- No
- Right of first refusal
- Yes
- Franchisor can match any purchase offer when you try to sell
- Governing law
- FL
- State whose law governs disputes. Relevant if you're not based there
Extracted from FDD Item 3
Litigation Detail
Case 1 (Franchisor as plaintiff): H-1 Auto Care LLC v. Balhar Lasher et al. (NJ federal court, filed 2021) - breach of franchise agreements, trademark infringement, trade secret violations against former franchisees who opened competing centers. Case 2 (Franchisor as defendant): Charles D. Fasnacht III et al. v. H-1 Auto Care LLC (AAA arbitration, filed 2024) - former Region Developers claim wrongful termination of Region Developer Agreements.
What drove the 63/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MINORUnit count declining 1.6% YoY suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo Net Income disclosure (Item 19) prevents validation of actual profitability claims; average revenue of $1.49M may not translate to promised returns
- 03HIGHActive litigation on two fronts (franchisor lawsuit + regional developer arbitration with counterclaim) indicates operational/contractual friction and potential governance issues
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($255K-$1.24M) with 20-year commitment creates long payback exposure if unit economics deteriorate
- 05MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) means franchisees pay regardless of profitability, amplifying risk during economic downturns
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status = False suggests potential financial stress at corporate level, raising sustainability questions
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.