FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Waxing the City litigation history
What Waxing the City 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
- 2
- 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
No litigation required to be disclosed regarding the Waxing the City brand itself. Two disclosed matters relate to affiliate The Bar Method: (1) Illinois AG action (2009) against Bar Method entities for unregistered franchise sales, resulting in consent decree and $5,000 penalty; (2) New York AG Assurance of Discontinuance (2009) for unregistered franchise sales, $2,500 payment.
Item 3 (litigation) · 2 matters disclosed
Litigation cases
Parent, affiliates, master franchisor and subfranchisor
Concluded (2)
Illinois v. The Bar Method Franchising Inc. and The Bar Method Inc.
judgmentGovernment or regulatory action · The Bar Method Franchising Inc. and The Bar Method Inc. (TBM / TBMLLC) · filed 2009-02-09 · Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois · 2009CH 0125
“… (Case No. 2009CH 0125, Seventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois, filed February 9, 2009).”Page 14 of the 2026 FDD, Item 3
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. (TBM) and Carl Diehl · filed 2009-04-02 · New York Attorney General · Assurance No. 08-108
“… (Assurance No. 08-108).”Page 14 of the 2026 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 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
Bankruptcy Code, Case No. 20-33163, United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston). On December 15, 2020 the Court confirmed CEC and its debtor affiliates Plan of Reorganization. On December 30, 2020 the Court provided for the discharge of the debtors.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Two affiliate-related litigation matters (2009 IL AG, NY AG), not the brand itself
- Bankruptcy disclosure is a CEO's former employer (CEC Entertainment 2020), not the franchisor
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?