FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2024 filing

One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning litigation history

What One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2024 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: 8; Item 3, as counted in the filing

Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases: $560K; As stated in Item 3

Bankruptcy (Item 4): None; Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer

Filing year: 2024; Disclosures cover the prior ten years

Extracted from the 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document

Item 3: litigation

Two pending suits filed by franchisor against former franchisees for breach of franchise agreements (Rocky Top Air/non-compete; David Michael Plumbing/underreporting). Four concluded actions including one where franchisor predecessor paid $560,000 settlement and two involving non-compete and trademark disputes. Two collections actions (Claire Service Now, Zubie Air).

Item 3 (litigation) · 8 matters disclosed · 2 pending listed

Litigation cases

The franchisor and its predecessor

Pending (2)

Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC; One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE, LLC; and Mister Sparky Franchising SPE, LLC v. David Michael Plumbing, Inc.; David Michael; and Karla Michael
pending
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2024-02-02 · U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan · 24-CV-10286-JJCG-APP
“Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC; One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE, LLC; and Mister Sparky Franchising SPE, LLC v. David Michael Plumbing, Inc.;”Page 15 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC, Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC, and Clockwork IP, LLC v. Rocky Top Air, Inc., Gerald Allison, and Benjamin Granger
pending
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2022-11-16 · U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · 1:22-cv- 02980
“… Case No. 1:22-cv- 02980, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.”Page 15 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “guarantor Benjamin Granger settled his interests in the action by paying the Franchisor entities $25,000. On April 24, 2024, the District Court entered an order reopening the case based upon the failure to consummate the settlement and allowing us to file a motion for entry of default judgment.”

Concluded (3)

Douglas A. Washburn, et al. v. One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE, LLC, et al.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2021-07-28 · U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio (removed from state court) · 3:21-cv-235
“… Case No. 3:21-cv-235, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.”Page 16 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On February 22, 2023, the parties settled the dispute, with the former franchisee agreeing to pay One Hour SPE compensation for its attorneys’ fees and for relief from further compliance with the covenant and the Court’s”
One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C. v. Holland Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. and Steven D. Holland
settled
Brought against a franchisee · One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C. (OHAC, our predecessor) · filed 2015-10-20 · U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida · 8:15-cv-02475
“… Case 8:15-cv-02475, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida.”Page 15 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “In June 2016, the parties entered into a settlement agreement in which the parties agreed to terminate the remaining Franchise Agreement and to sign a mutual general release, and in which the Defendants agreed to pay our predecessor $200,000 over a”
One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C. v. Dallas Unique Indoor Comfort, Ltd.
settled
Brought against a franchisee · One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C. (OHAC, our predecessor) · filed 2013-12-31 · U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida · 8:13-cv-03278-JSM-MAP
“… Case No.8:13-cv-03278-JSM-MAP, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida.”Page 16 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “resolved by agreement between the parties in which our predecessor agreed to pay defendant $560,000. On January 14, 2016 a notice of settlement was filed with the court.”

Status not stated in the filing (2)

One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC v. Claire Service Now, Inc. and Mandy Solis
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2023-03-29 · U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · 1:23-cv-0862-ADC
“… Case No.: 1:23-cv-0862-ADC, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, filed March 29, 2023.”Page 18 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3
One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC v. Zubie Air, Inc. and Evel Zubiate
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2023-03-17 · U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland · 1:23-cv-0739-SAG
“… Case No. 1:23-cv-0739-SAG, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, filed March 17, 2023.”Page 18 of the 2024 FDD, Item 3

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Concluded (1)

VenVest Ballard, Inc., et al. v. Clockwork, Inc., et al.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · Clockwork, Inc. (our predecessor's parent) and Clockwork IP, LLC (affiliate) · filed 2014-01-31 · U.S. District Court, Central District of California · 5:14-cv-00195-MWF-EX
“… Case No. 5:14-cv-00195-MWF-EX, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.”Page 16 of the 2024 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

Multiple litigation cases involving trademark infringement, non-compete violations, and sales underreporting suggest systemic compliance issues

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?

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