FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing
Smoothie King litigation history
What Smoothie King 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
- $16K
- As stated in Item 3
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2025
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Two cases disclosed: (1) Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. v. Best Smoothie Inc. and Jean Victome - trademark/trade secret infringement case filed October 2021, concluded February 2025 with judgment in franchisor's favor for $373,796.72 and permanent injunction; appeal pending as of March 7, 2025. (2) Thomas O'Keefe, et al. v. Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. & SK USA, Inc. - employment-related stock options dispute filed August 2024 by nine former employees, alleging breach of contract and various claims; answer filed February 2025; trial scheduled October 20, 2025.
Disclosed in the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
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?