FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
HouseMaster litigation history
What HouseMaster 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
- 1
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases
- None stated
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
One administrative Consent Order (Nov. 14, 2017) between the California Commissioner of Business Oversight and For Franchising LLC (predecessor to affiliate Window Genie) and its then-president, for failing to submit two advertisements to the Commissioner before use, resulting in a $5,000 penalty and remedial training; this action did not involve the Franchisor (HouseMaster SPV LLC). No litigation involving the Franchisor itself is disclosed.
Item 3 (litigation) · 1 matter disclosed
Litigation cases
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 (predecessor of our affiliate Window Genie) · filed 2017-11-14 · Commissioner of Business Oversight of the State of California
“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: “... matter, that (a) FOR and Mr. Nonelle would desist and refrain from violations of section 31156 of the California Franchise Investment Law; (b) 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 ...”
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.
Disclosed in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Disclosed bankruptcies involve KKR portfolio companies (not the Franchisor or its immediate affiliates): Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd. (Ch. 11, June 2025); The Collected Group LLC (Ch. 11, 2021, emerged); Envision Healthcare Corporation (Ch. 11, 2023, emerged); Genesis Care Pty Limited (Ch. 11, 2023, emerged); IPI Legacy Liquidation Co. f/k/a Impel Pharmaceuticals (Ch. 11, 2023, emerged); Cafe Coffee Day (India insolvency, ultimately set aside on appeal).
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Affiliate litigation (Window Genie, Molly Maid) within parent company portfolio raises systemic compliance or operational management concerns
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?