Intelligent Office: Litigation & Risk
Business Services · FDD Items 3, 4 & 5
Lower Risk
No litigation cases disclosed in FDD Items 3 and 4.
FDD Items 3 & 4
Litigation Metrics
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Total from FDD Items 3 and 4
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor or officer bankruptcy
- Verdict score
- 39 / 100
- FranchiseVerdict composite · higher is better
- Rating
- C
- 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
- 19
- Government-backed loans issued
- Charge-off rate
- 20.0%
- vs 16% franchise average
- 5-yr charge-off rate
- N/A
- Defaults
- 2 loans
- Loans charged off or defaulted
- Total loan volume
- $7.7M
- Avg loan size
- $403K
- Participating lenders
- 8
FDD Items 5, 6 & 17: What You Give Up
Contract Risk Indicators
- Mandatory arbitration
- Required
- Disputes resolved outside court, limits your legal options
- Jury trial waiver
- Waived
- You give up the right to a jury trial
- Non-compete
- 2 yrs
- Post-termination restriction on similar businesses
- Franchisor can compete
- Yes
- Franchisor can open competing locations in or near your territory
- 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
No litigation against IO Franchising LLC. Affiliate disclosures: Signarama 1993 FTC injunction and 1996 Maryland consent order (signage-related); TGG 2021 California consent order for pre-opening fee collection; TGG/GCZ/UFG 2022 California consent orders for trade show franchise sales without registration.
What drove the 39/100 verdict
Risk Score Breakdown
- 01MINORUnit count declining 4.7% YoY with only 41 locations remaining indicates shrinking franchise system
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — unable to validate profitability claims or ROI despite $228k-$1.5M investment range
- 03MINORMultiple regulatory consent orders across affiliate brands (Signarama 1993/1996, TGG 2021/2022) signal pattern of compliance issues within parent company
- 04MINORWide investment range ($228k-$1.5M+) with average revenue of $601k suggests inconsistent unit economics and unclear path to profitability
- 05MINOR35-year franchise term is unusually long and locks franchisees into agreement with declining brand momentum
- 06MINORRoyalty structure (6% or $1,500 minimum) means low-revenue units may be unprofitable after paying franchisor fees
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.