FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Ledo Pizza litigation history
What Ledo Pizza 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
- 3
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases
- None stated
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
D&L Urban Holdings v. Cluckster (affiliate dispute, resolved at trial level, on appeal affirmed 3/6/2026 with remand on fees); Ledo Pizza System v. Ledo's Inc. (trademark infringement in IL, bench trial completed 8/2025-9/2025 awaiting final decision); Consent Order with Maryland Securities Commissioner (1989, re: affiliate unregistered franchise sales).
Item 3 (litigation) · 3 matters disclosed · 2 pending listed
Litigation cases
The franchisor
Pending (1)
Ledo Pizza System, Inc. et al. v. Ledo’s, Inc.
pendingBrought by the franchisor · filed 2020-12-11 · United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · 20-CV-07350
“… (Case No. 20-CV-07350). This action was filed on December 11, 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (1)
Consent Order with Maryland Securities Commissioner, dated May 26, 1989
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · Ledo Pizza Carryouts, Inc. (our affiliate), Robert M. Beall, Margaret K. Beall and Thomas E. Marcos, Jr. · filed 1989-05-26 · Maryland Securities Commissioner
“… Ledo Pizza Carryouts, Inc., Robert M. Beall, Margaret K. Beall and Thomas E. Marcos, Jr. are all signatories to and have voluntarily entered into a Consent Order with the Maryland Securities Commissioner (“Commissioner”).”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Officers and directors (individuals, not the company)
Pending (1)
D&L Urban Holdings, LLC, et al. v. Cluckster, LLC, et al.
pendingJames B. Beall (our Director and President) and Friend’s Choice Investments, LLC (owned by our shareholders/officers) · filed 2019 · Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland · CAL20-01111 and CAL20-12412
“… (Civil Action No. CAL20-01111 and CAL20-12412) was filed in December of 2019 in the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland.”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
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.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Active trademark infringement litigation creates brand vulnerability and legal distraction for franchisor
- Multiple litigation exposures (trademark suit, former affiliate disputes) signal operational/governance risks
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?