Primary plaintiff Jessica Manner filed the Pizza Hut class action lawsuit in February of 2015. According to court documents, Manner alleged that defendant Summit Pizza West, which manages about 50 Pizza Hut restaurants located in California, violated a California statute that prohibits credit card fraud and identity theft. The California consumer protection law also includes penalties for violating the provisions of the statute. California law forbids businesses from asking customers personal information, such as a Social Security number. Businesses also cannot record the personal information on a customer account form.
Manner asserts Summit Pizza West obtained and recorded customer personal information. In July of 2014, she purchased a pizza to go from a San Diego area Pizza Hut. At the end of transaction, the cashier requested Manner’s telephone number, which the cashier recorded by using the restaurant’s electronic point of sale system.
After several rounds of motions and mediation meetings, both parties agreed to the class action settlement. Summit Pizza West must distribute free vouchers to each eligible class member. Class members redeem the free vouchers for food or beverages at one of the Pizza Hut restaurants operated by Summit Pizza West. The defendant has repeatedly denied the accusations made in the class action lawsuit. However, the Pizza Hut franchisee agreed to the class action settlement to avoid the high costs of prolonged litigation.
What You Need To Know
According to class counsel, qualifying class members “include all persons from whom Summit Pizza West requested personal identification information in conjunction with a carry-out purchase from one of the company’s Pizza Hut locations in California between Feb. 20, 2014 and March 13, 2015.” The maximum award each class member can receive in free vouchers is $20.97. Eligible class members who submit valid and timely claim forms will be given three free vouchers, each of which is worth $6.99 for a total of $20.97. Class members can use the vouchers only at the Pizza Hut restaurants operated by Summit Pizza West.
Class members who did not receive an Access Code and a Claim ID must submit personal contact information to the class action settlement claims administrator. You also must declare under the penalty of perjury that you made a class member qualifying purchase at one of the Summit Pizza West restaurants. The deadline to file a valid claim form is September 19, 2017. The judge presiding over the case Manner v. Summit Pizza West LLC, Case No. 37-2015-5909-CU-MC-CTL, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego has scheduled the final hearing on September 29, 2017. Download the transcript of the final hearing by visiting the class action settlement website www.SummitPizzaWestSettlement.com. The class action settlement website also lists the attorneys who represent the class and defense counsels.
Leave a Reply