FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2026 filing
Window World litigation history
What Window World 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 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 17
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- Not extracted
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- None
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2026
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
Multiple pending North Carolina Business Court cases (2015-2020) with franchisees alleging breach of contract, fraud, antitrust, unfair trade practices, and trademark disputes; several concluded state franchise-registration consent orders (CA, IL, WA, MD, VA, OR, WI, IN) from 2011-2013 unregistered franchise offerings; an arbitration settled for $2,350,000 plus $350,000 non-compete payout; shareholder disputes settled for $18,249,937.23; an employment lawsuit settled for $33,376.11 plus $30,623.89 attorneys fees.
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- 12 litigation matters vs 211 units, several with serious allegations (fraud, antitrust, unfair trade practices, trademark)
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?