FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Orangetheory Fitness litigation history
What Orangetheory Fitness 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)
- Disclosed · an officer
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
1) Rpash Inc./Regelean v. UFG (AAA 2016) - franchise territory misrepresentation claim; settled with $34,200 payment and transfer fee waiver. 2) Illinois v. The Bar Method Franchising Inc. (2009) - franchise registration violation; consent decree with $5,000 penalty. 3) NY AG v. The Bar Method Inc./Carl Diehl (Assurance No. 08-108) - franchise registration violation; AOD with $2,500 payment.
Item 3 (litigation) · 3 matters disclosed
Litigation cases
The franchisor and its predecessor
Concluded (1)
Rpash, Inc., David Regelean, and Tammie Regelean v. Ultimate Fitness Group, LLC and Dan Adelstein
concludedUltimate Fitness Group, LLC · filed 2016-01-28 · American Arbitration Association · 01-16-0000-3280
“… (Case No. 01-16-0000-3280, American Arbitration Association, filed Janua”Page 15 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The arbitration was dismissed by the claimants with prejudice on January 5, 2017. The foll”
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (2)
Illinois v. The Bar Method Franchising Inc. and The Bar Method Inc.
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · The Bar Method Franchising Inc.; The Bar Method Inc. · filed 2009-02-09 · Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois · 2009CH 0125
“… (Case No. 2009CH 0125, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois, filed February 9, 2009). The Il”Page 16 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “Defendants agreed to the entry of a Final Judgment and Consent Decree in which, while not admitting”
In the Matter of the Investigation by Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General of the State of New York, of The Bar Method Inc. and Carl Diehl
concludedGovernment or regulatory action · The Bar Method Inc.; Carl Diehl (Vice President) · Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York · Assurance No. 08-108
“… (Assurance No. 08-108). On April 2, 2”Page 16 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “TBM and Mr. Diehl, as its Vice President, entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) under which, wit”
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.
Disclosed in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Thomas Leverton (CEO of parent companies) was CEO of CEC Entertainment, Inc. from July 2014 to February 2020. Approximately 4 months after he left, CEC Entertainment filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Case No. 20-33163, June 24, 2020). Plan confirmed December 15, 2020; discharge December 30, 2020.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Multiple litigation actions including settled arbitration for demographic misrepresentation, permanent Illinois injunction for FDD violations, and NY Assurance of Discontinuance for unregistered sales — suggests compliance and disclosure 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?