FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing
Ledgers litigation history
What Ledgers disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2025 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
- 12
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $775K
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2025
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Multiple cases involving John T. Hewitt (CEO of parent Loyalty, LLC): 2 pending arbitration/litigation cases (investor fraud claims and joint venture fraud claims directly naming the franchisor); multiple concluded cases related to Liberty Tax, shareholder derivative suits, employment disputes, and a DOJ settlement regarding tax compliance. A California consent order requires ongoing disclosure.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Pending litigation alleging fraud and breach of contract raises serious governance and trustworthiness concerns
- John Hewitt litigation history and Liberty Tax connection suggest pattern of legal and operational problems
- Going concern status indicates potential insolvency and franchisor sustainability risk
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?