FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing
PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans litigation history
What PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans 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
- 2
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- $1
- 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
1) Whitetail 26, LLC et al. v. New Orleans Brew, LLC (AAA arbitration, filed Dec 2023) — former franchisees alleged Louisiana UTPA violations, fraud in inducement, misrepresentation, breach of contract; arbitrator awarded damages for investment losses but rejected fraud/misrepresentation claims; final award June 2025 not yet confirmed by court. 2) Unique Marie Hankston v. Delaware North d/b/a PJ's Coffee House (La. Civ. Dist. Ct. filed Mar 2025) — plaintiff alleged illness from contaminated food at a franchisee-operated airport location; affiliate Ballard Brands named defendant; New Orleans Brew LLC not named.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Active litigation involving bad faith termination claims (Whitetail 26) and food contamination personal injury lawsuit (Unique Marie Hankston) suggests operational/legal vulnerabilities
- High franchise fee ($40K) combined with litigation history may deter qualified candidates, creating pressure to relax vetting standards
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?