FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing

Villa Pizza litigation history

What Villa Pizza 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: 8; Item 3, as counted in the filing

Largest settlement, franchisor's own cases: $60K; As stated in Item 3

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

Franchisee dispute over Egypt trademark misrepresentation (pending, $362,000 claimed); affiliate lease dispute at American Dream Mall (dismissed in Villa's favor 2024); multiple concluded actions for unpaid royalties resulting in settlements and default judgments (including a $738,872.99 judgment and a $1,132,372.72 default judgment); a franchisee rescission/fraud claim settled for $60,000 plus royalty concessions; a Washington AG investigation into a no-hire provision resolved via Assurance of Discontinuance (2019).

Item 3 (litigation) · 8 matters disclosed

Litigation cases

The franchisor

Concluded (7)

Passion for Restaurants, Inc. v. Villa Pizza, LLC
settled
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2023-02-06 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County, Law Division · MRS-L-226-23
“… filed February 6, 2023 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County, Law Division, Docket No. MRS-L-226-23 alleging Villa Pizza, LLC breached a Franchise Agreement by misrepresenting that it had filed”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “This case was settled with the dismissal of all claims and counter claims. B. AFFILIATE ACTIONS Ameream LLC v. Villa Pizza Enterprises of New Jersey, Inc. d/b/a Tony + Benny’s, d/b/a Green Leaf’s Beyond Great Salads and Bananas Smoothies & Frozen Yogurt and Villa Restaurant Group, Superior Court of”
Everything Yogurt Brands, LLC and Villa Pizza, LLC v. Asif Shahzad, Aqsa Hashmi, Taco Jersey Green, Inc. and Hashmi Management, Inc.
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2021-08-06 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County · MRS-L-1709-21
“… – Filed August 6, 2021 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County (MRS-L-1709-21) by Plaintiffs for monetary recovery”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Villa Pizza, LLC v. Demopolis Shell, LLC and Ahmed Nadeem
judgment
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2021-06-02 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County · MRS-L-1241-21
“… – Filed June 2, 2021 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County (MRS-L-1241-21) by Plaintiff for monetary recovery of unpaid royalties under a Franchise Agreement for a restaurant located at the Riverchase Galleria Mall (Hoover, Alabama).”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Villa Pizza, LLC, and Everything Yogurt Brands, LLC v. 1314 Food Services, Inc., Michael Dzanoucakis, Servat Ibrahim and Amjad Ibrahim
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2021-06-03 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County · MRS-L-1246-21
“… – Filed June 3, 2021 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County (MRS-L-1246-21) by Plaintiffs for monetary recovery of unpaid royalties under Franchise Agreements for restaurants located at the Tanger Outlets-Riverhead (Riverhead, NY).”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The parties reached a settlement and dismissed the matter. 5. Villa Pizza, LLC v. Demopolis Shell, LLC and Ahmed Nadeem – Filed June 2, 2021 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County (MRS-L-1241-21) by Plaintiff for monetary recovery of unpaid royalties under a Franchise Agreement for a restaurant located at the Riverchase Galleria Mall (Hoover, Alabama).”
Matter with no printed caption
concluded
Government or regulatory action · filed 2019 · Attorney General of the State of Washington
“In January 2019, the Attorney General of the State of Washington initiated an investigation related to a provision in Washington franchise agreements which limited franchisees from hiring an employee who had worked for the Company or for other franchisees.”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “the Company entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (“AOD”) on May 14, 2019. By agreeing to the AOD, the Company admitted no wrongdoing or liability and the Attorney General agreed the AOD resolved the investigation.”
Demopolis Shell, LLC and Ahmed Nadeem v. Villa Pizza, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company, Villa Enterprises Management Ltd., Inc. and Villa Restaurant Group, LLC and Villa Pizza, LLC a Delaware limited liability company
settled
Brought by a franchisee · filed 2017-11-02 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County · L-2372-17
“… filed on November 2, 2017”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “The parties thereafter entered into a settlement agreement by which the defendants agreed to pay $60,000 and reduce royalties paid by franchisees or any transferee, and further agreed to attempt to negotiate a rental reduction from the landlord and also waived the right to receive a transfer fee or any balance owed under the parties purchase agreement.”
Villa Pizza, LLC, Everything Yogurt Brands, LLC and Villa Ristorante, Inc. v. Fast Casual Enterprises, LLC, Richard Kim, Timothy Tary and Jungwon Baeg
settled
Brought against a franchisee · filed 2016 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County · MRS-L-2356-16
“… filed October 2016 in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County (MRS-L-2356-16) by Plaintiff based upon franchise agreements seeking monetary relief for unpaid fees rent and other payments.”Page 13 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3

Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor

Concluded (1)

Ameream LLC v. Villa Pizza Enterprises of New Jersey, Inc. d/b/a Tony + Benny’s, d/b/a Green Leaf’s Beyond Great Salads and Bananas Smoothies & Frozen Yogurt and Villa Restaurant Group
dismissed
Brought by a third party · Villa Pizza Enterprises of New Jersey, Inc. and Villa Restaurant Group · filed 2021-01-28 · Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County, Law Division · BER-L-000638-21
“… Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County, Law Division, Docket No.”Page 12 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
Outcome: “this case was dismissed after trial in favor of Villa Pizza Enterprises.”

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

Villa's President, Biagio Scotto, was president of Villa Pizza Specialties, Inc., a Texas corporation, which operated one store in Texas and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy (case no. 15-31057, U.S. Bankruptcy Court - District of New Jersey); case closed February 14, 2017.

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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