(Oct. 22) A small group of former Ace Hardware dealers who opened new stores in 2006 and 2007 have filed a suit against their former co-op, claiming they were misled over what to expect in revenues during the first year of business.

The lawsuit, reported by the Quad City Times, was filed in Rock Island County Circuit Court by Silvis Ace Hardware in Silvis, Ill.; Hilltop Ace Hardware in Rock Island, and Village Ace Hardware in Champaign, Ill. The plaintiffs allege that they purchased three “Vision 21” format stores and invested millions of dollars based on Ace Hardware projections of revenues, positive cash flow, and profits for each store. The plaintiffs also claim they were encouraged to build additional stores in the greater Quad-City area, a geographic region that straddles the Iowa-Illinois border.

The three stores, which opened in 2006 and 2007, generated “drastically less” revenues and profits than Ace’s projections, the lawsuit claims. The plaintiffs allege that the corporation failed to help their struggling operations when they requested assistance.  

The Rock Island and Silvis store closed earlier this year, according to the newspaper. The Champaign store is also out of business.   

Christopher Boniface, a spokesman for Ace Hardware, told Home Channel News that the organization could not comment on pending litigation. An email to one of the plaintiff’s attorneys seeking further comment went unanswered.  

The former Ace dealers are seeking to recover the money they invested in their stores, which they estimated to be in excess of $10 million.