Let’s be honest about why you’re here. You searched blinglelawsuit — and you want a straight answer.
You either just got off the phone with a Blingle sales rep and something felt off. Or you’re already a franchisee wondering if other people feel as cheated as you do. Or maybe you just Googled the name before signing anything — which, by the way, is exactly the right instinct.
Whatever brought you here, you deserve a straight answer. Not a runaround. Not a 3,000-word article that says “a lawsuit exists” and then tells you nothing useful.
So here it is: Yes, a real federal lawsuit was filed against Blingle. Eight franchise owners took the company to court. They had serious complaints — fake earnings projections, useless training, hidden costs. The case was filed in federal court in 2023.
And then it got dismissed. Not because the judge said the franchisees were wrong. But because of a clause buried in their contracts.
That detail changes everything. Let’s break it all down.
Table of Contents
First — What Even Is Blingle?
Blingle is an outdoor lighting franchise. Holiday lights, landscape lighting, event setups, permanent exterior lighting for homes and businesses. Sounds like a solid seasonal business, right?
The company operates under a parent called HorsePower Brands — a franchise holding company founded in 2020 by Josh Skolnick and Zachery Beutler. Their pitch was simple and aggressive: buy 25 home service brands by 2025 and franchise them across America.
Blingle was one of their first big ones. iFoam (spray foam insulation) and Mighty Dog Roofing came later.
The model works like most franchise setups — you pay a fee, get the brand name, get “training and support,” and run your own territory. The pitch sounds great. The reality, for a group of owners, turned out to be very different.
What Did the Franchisees Actually Claim?
In August 2023, eight franchise owners came together and filed a federal lawsuit. These weren’t random internet complaints. These were real business owners putting their names on court documents in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Here’s what they said happened to them.
They were shown numbers that didn’t add up.
Before signing, they were shown annual revenue projections. The kind of figures that make you think — okay, this could work. The kind that make you write the check. But once they were actually running their franchises, those numbers looked nothing like reality. Earnings were far below what they’d been told to expect.
This is one of the most common franchise lawsuits you’ll see. The FTC actually has a rule about this — if a franchisor tells you how much you could earn, those numbers have to appear in a document called the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). If what the salesperson told you doesn’t match what’s in the FDD, or if there’s no earnings claim in there at all, that’s a problem.
They said the training was basically useless.
Several owners came in with zero experience in lighting services. Corporate told them that was fine. “You don’t need prior experience” is a common franchise sales line — and sometimes it’s true. But these owners said the training they received left them completely unprepared. They were running businesses they didn’t know how to run, with support that wasn’t actually supporting them.
The costs were not what they were told.
One example that stood out: a former iFoam owner — not Blingle, but the same parent company — was told his spray foam truck would cost around $180,000. After signing, he found out the actual price was closer to $225,000. He was a military veteran. He trusted the numbers he’d been given. He filed for bankruptcy in October 2023.
That’s not a footnote. That’s someone’s life.
The fees kept coming.
The lawsuit described the whole setup as a scheme to profit from franchise owners through “exorbitant and unnecessary fees” — charges that weren’t clearly explained upfront but kept appearing after the agreement was signed.
HorsePower Brands denied everything. They said franchisees hadn’t read their disclosures carefully enough and called the lawsuits “copycat claims.”
So What Actually Happened in Court for Blinglelawsuit?
This is the part most articles either miss completely or mention in passing like it doesn’t matter. It matters a lot.
The case was dismissed in March 2024.
But here’s the thing — the judge didn’t say the franchisees were wrong. The judge didn’t rule that HorsePower Brands did nothing wrong. The judge never even got to examine the actual claims.
The case was thrown out because the franchisees had skipped a step in their own contracts.
Almost every franchise agreement has a mediation clause. It says: before you sue us, you have to sit down with us in a formal mediation session and try to work it out. If that fails, then you can go to court.
The Blingle franchisees went straight to federal court without going through mediation first. So HorsePower Brands’ lawyers pointed to that clause, and the court dismissed the case on procedural grounds.
No ruling on the merits. No determination of who was right. Just — you didn’t follow the right steps, case closed.
What this actually means: The dismissal is not a verdict in HorsePower Brands’ favor. It doesn’t mean the allegations were false. It means the litigation door was closed before anyone could walk through it.
Did the Problem Stop There?
No. And this is where things get more serious.
After the Blingle case was dismissed, franchisees from other HorsePower brands started making almost identical complaints. iFoam operators. Mighty Dog Roofing owners. Same story: promised revenue that didn’t materialize, training that didn’t prepare them, costs that were higher than disclosed.
When you see the same pattern repeating across multiple brands under the same parent company, that’s not a coincidence. That’s a systemic issue worth paying attention to — whether you’re a current owner trying to understand your options, or a prospective buyer doing research right now.
The Mediation Clause — Why It’s Such a Big Deal
Most people buying a franchise don’t spend much time reading the dispute resolution section of their contract. It’s buried near the end, written in legal language, and at the point you’re reading it, you’re probably excited and ready to sign.
But the mediation clause is one of the most important parts of the whole agreement.
Here’s why.
If something goes wrong — and sometimes things go wrong — that clause controls how you’re allowed to respond. It can require you to:
- Attempt mediation before filing any lawsuit
- Use a specific mediator or process chosen by the franchisor
- Handle disputes in a specific state (often where the franchisor is headquartered, not where you live)
- Complete mediation before you can even request arbitration
If you skip any of those steps, even accidentally, a court can dismiss your case entirely. That’s exactly what happened here.
Before you sign any franchise agreement, have a franchise attorney read that section specifically. Understand your path to dispute resolution before you need it. Because by the time you need it, it’s too late to negotiate.
If you want to see how these contract disputes play out in other contexts, take a look at what happened in the 72 Sold Lawsuit — another case where the gap between what buyers were promised and what they actually received became the center of a major legal dispute.
What Should Prospective Buyers Do Right Now?
If you’re considering a Blingle franchise — or any franchise from the HorsePower Brands portfolio — here’s what to actually do. Not generic advice. Specific steps.
Get the Franchise Disclosure Document and actually read it.
You’re legally entitled to receive the FDD at least 14 days before signing anything or paying any money. Don’t let a salesperson rush you. The sections that matter most:
- Item 3 — Lists all lawsuits involving the franchisor or its affiliates. This is where the Blingle case should appear.
- Item 7 — Startup costs. Compare every number here to what you’ve been told verbally.
- Item 19 — Earnings claims. If there are no earnings claims here, be very cautious about any revenue projections you’ve been given.
- Item 20 — How many franchises have opened, closed, or been transferred. A high closure rate is a red flag.
Call former franchisees.
Item 20 must include contact information for people who have left the system in the past year. Call them. Ask directly: why did you leave? What was the training actually like? Did your earnings match what you were shown? How did corporate handle problems?
These conversations are worth more than any sales presentation.
Hire your own attorney.
Not one the franchisor recommends. Your own, independent franchise attorney. The legal fee for a contract review is a fraction of the cost of finding out after signing that the agreement didn’t protect you. A small business attorney with franchise experience can spot problems in mediation clauses, territory definitions, fee structures, and exit terms that aren’t visible to non-lawyers.
How Does This Compare to Other Franchise and Business Lawsuits?
The Blingle case is one example of a broader pattern in franchise litigation — disputes between owners who felt misled and corporate teams who point to signed contracts and say “you agreed to this.”
It’s not the only case where the gap between promise and reality ended up in court.
The Nightfall Group Lawsuit involved a similar dynamic — a business that attracted investors and operators with a compelling pitch, and then faced legal scrutiny over whether that pitch matched reality.
The Isotonix Lawsuit raised questions about earnings claims in a network marketing context — again, promises about income that allegedly didn’t hold up.
Even large product liability cases like the Roundup Lawsuit and the Snow Teeth Whitening Lawsuit follow a similar pattern at their core: someone made a claim, people relied on that claim, and the claim turned out to be questionable.
The legal mechanisms differ. But the human situation is usually the same. Someone trusted. Someone invested. Something went wrong. And now they’re trying to figure out what their options are.
Quick Answers to the Most Common Questions
Is there actually a Blingle lawsuit, or is it just rumor?
It’s real. Case name: Waldron et al. v. SVHB Marketing LLC d/b/a Horse Power Brands et al. Case number: 2:23-cv-03485-MSG. U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Filed September 2023. Dismissed March 2024.
Why was it dismissed?
The franchisees skipped the mandatory mediation step required by their contracts before filing suit. The court dismissed the case on that procedural basis — not because the claims were found to be without merit.
Did Blingle or HorsePower Brands win the case?
No one won. The case was dismissed procedurally. The actual allegations were never evaluated by a judge.
Is Blingle still selling franchises?
Yes. The brand is still operating and selling territories. The lawsuit history is part of the public record and should be reviewed by anyone considering an investment.
Where can I see the actual court record?
The case is on the federal PACER system (pacer.gov) under case number 2:23-cv-03485-MSG. You’ll need a registered account to access the full docket.
Should I hire an attorney before buying any franchise?
Yes. Always. The cost of a legal review before signing is almost always far less than the cost of dealing with problems after you’re locked in.
The Bottom Line
The Blingle lawsuit is real, documented, and publicly verifiable. Eight franchisees raised serious concerns about how the business opportunity was sold to them — projected earnings that didn’t materialize, training that didn’t prepare them, costs that were higher than disclosed.
The case was dismissed. But the dismissal didn’t come from a judge saying those concerns were unfounded. It came from a procedural mistake the plaintiffs made. The underlying questions were never answered in court.
What we’re left with is a public record that says: some franchise owners felt significantly misled. The same pattern appeared across other HorsePower brands afterward. And none of it was ever tested in front of a judge.
For anyone looking at this brand as an investment, that history deserves your full attention. Not panic. Not automatic rejection. Just serious, careful, professional due diligence before you write any check.
This article is for Blinglelawsuit and it’s just for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are involved in a franchise dispute or considering a franchise investment, consult a licensed attorney.
