FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2025 filing

Snap Fitness litigation history

What Snap Fitness 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 (litigation) & 4 (bankruptcy) at a glance

What the filing discloses

Cases disclosed: 9; Item 3, as counted in the filing

Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases: $2.9M; As stated in Item 3

Bankruptcy (Item 4): Disclosed · an officer; Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer

Filing year: 2025; Disclosures cover the prior ten years

Extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document

Item 3: litigation

9 concluded actions in Item 3 (no pending actions): trademark/non-compete enforcement actions by Snap Fitness against former franchisees (Scenic City Fitness/Blankenship - permanent injunction + $174K+ in damages/fines/fees; John Mullins/JDM - $115K settlement; Christina/Jason Clark - $57.5K settlement; Sharon Lockhart - $30K paid by Snap Fitness then $53.4K arbitration award against Snap Fitness; Scott Estes - $99.5K award for Snap Fitness); franchisee-initiated actions against Snap Fitness (SF Franchisee Association class-type dispute over club management software/ransomware, settled with fee credits/discounts; Wellness Plus/Robicheaux arbitration over same software issue, $15K paid to Snap Fitness; Robert Miller breach of contract claim, voluntarily dismissed; Thomas Dwyer class action over Club Enhancement Fee, $2.9M settlement fund paid by Snap Fitness).

Item 3 (litigation) · 9 matters disclosed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Concluded (9)

Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Scenic City Fitness, Inc. et al
judgment
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2024-07-19 · United States District Court, District of Minnesota · 24-CV-02803
“… Case No.: 24-CV-02803, United States District Court, District of Minnesota.”Page 12 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Snap Fitness vs. John Mullins, JDM Advisors, Inc., and JDM Fitness, Inc.
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2020-02-14 · United States District Court, District of Minnesota · 0:20-cv-00522
“… United States District Court, Case No. 0:20-cv-00522, District of Minnesota.”Page 13 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Christina Clark; Jason Clark; CY Fitness, Inc.; & JC Fitness, Inc.
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2020-10-13 · American Arbitration Association · 012000152472
“… American Arbitration Association, Case No. 012000152472.”Page 13 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Wellness Plus, LLC; Eric Robicheaux; Erryca Robicheaux; and Gail Robicheaux
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2020-03-06 · American Arbitration Association · 012000021235
“… American Arbitration Association, Case No. 012000021235.”Page 14 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Robert Miller v. Snap Fitness Inc. & Peter Taunton
dismissed
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2019-10-25 · Ohio State Court, Ashtabula County · 2019-CV-0584
“… Case No.: 2019-CV-0584, Ohio State Court, Ashtabula County. On October 25, 2019, Robert Miller (“Miller”), a Snap Fitness franchisee located in Clinton, Ohio, filed an action against us and Mr. Taunton”Page 14 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
SF Franchisee Association v. Snap Fitness, Inc.
settled
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2019-12-16 · Minnesota State Court, Hennepin County · 27-CV-19-20694
“… Case No.: 27-CV-19-20694, Minnesota State Court, Hennepin County. On December 16, 2019, the SF Franchisee Association (the “Association”), which is a group of SNAP FITNESS franchisees and former franchisees”Page 12 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Scott Estes
judgment
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2018-03-21 · American Arbitration Association, Minneapolis, MN · 01-18-0001-3017
“… American Arbitration Association, Case No. 01-18-0001-3017, Minneapolis, MN. On March 21, 2018, we filed a demand for arbitration against a former franchisee, Scott Estes (“Estes”), alleging breach of the franchise agreement due to Estes’ abandonment of the franchise and failure to pay fees owed under the franchise agreement.”Page 15 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Thomas Dwyer v. Snap Fitness, Inc.
settled
Brought by a third party · filed 2017-05-25 · United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio · 1:17-cv-00455-MRB
“… United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Case No. 1:17-cv-00455-MRB, originally filed May 25, 2017 in the Court of Common Please, Hamilton County, Ohio, Case No. 17-455.”Page 14 of the 2025 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “On February 1, 2019, Dwyer and Snap Fitness entered into a Settlement Agreement, under which Snap Fitness agreed to pay $2.9 million to a settlement fund for distribution to Dwyer and all Ohio State and nationwide class members.”
Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Sharon Lockhart and Fitness Design Enterprises, LLC (and Sharon Lockhart and Fitness Design Enterprises, LLC v. Snap Fitness, Inc., AAA 01-17-0004-0985)
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2016-01-18 · E.D. Tenn.; American Arbitration Association · 4:16-CV-00005- CLC-CHS
“Snap Fitness, Inc. v. Sharon Lockhart and Fitness Design Enterprises, LLC, Case No. 4:16-CV-00005- CLC-CHS (E.D. Tenn.).”Page 15 of the 2025 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.

Disclosed in the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document

Item 4: bankruptcy

Paul Early, Snap Fitness's Chief Administrative Officer, was CAO at Gold's Gym International, Inc. (affiliate of GGI Holdings, LLC) when GGI Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 4, 2020 (Case No. 20-31318, N.D. Texas); reorganization plan confirmed August 26, 2020. This is a personal/officer bankruptcy disclosure, not a bankruptcy of Snap Fitness itself.

Disclosure signals that moved the score

How this shows up in the verdict

Bankruptcy is officer's prior-employer (GGI/Gold's Gym), not franchisor — low weight

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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