FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2023 filing
Le Pain Quotidien litigation history
What Le Pain Quotidien disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2023 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
- 1
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- None stated
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2023
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
LPQ Central Canada Inc. v. PQ Licensing S.A. et al. (Ontario Superior Court, Case No. CV-11-436710): Canadian area developer filed complaint alleging non-compliant disclosure and misrepresentation; sought damages up to $18M. Litigation administratively dismissed 2013, stayed pending arbitration 2014. Arbitration bifurcated; timeliness challenges resolved 2016 and 2019. Pending final resolution as of FDD date.
Disclosed in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Predecessor PQ Licensing SA filed for judicial reorganization in Belgium (Brussels Enterprise Court, Case No. Q/20/00022) on May 4/22, 2020; reorganization plan approved June 24, 2020; assets acquired by BrunchCo 21 SA on July 10, 2020. Predecessor's subsidiary PQ New York Inc. filed Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Delaware (Case No. 20-11266) on May 27, 2020; plan of liquidation confirmed September 25, 2020; proceedings ongoing as of FDD date.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Active litigation seeking $18M damages and rescission of development agreement signals serious disclosure/compliance issues between franchisor and franchisees
- Going concern status indicates potential franchisor financial instability, raising questions about support, marketing fund viability, and long-term system stability
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?