BASS v. PJCOMN/ESSENTIAL PIZZA and SUNDINE v. HARRIS & MILLS

PIZZA DELIVERY DRIVER LITIGATION 

OVERVIEW

Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Weinhaus & Potashnick have filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid wages and unreimbursed expenses on behalf of pizza delivery drivers against Essential Pizza/PJCOMN, which operates approximately 82 Papa John's stores in Colorado and Minnesota. The case is known as Shane Bass et al. v. PJCOMN Acquisition Corp., PJCOMN LLC, and Essential Pizza, Inc., d/b/a "PJCOMN". Additionally, on May 4, 2011, we filed a lawsuit against Cliff Harris and Brian Mills, the owners of Essential/PJCOMN on behalf of pizza delivery drivers seeking unpaid wages and unreimbursed expenses under the FLSA. That case is titled Cheryl Sundine, et al. v. Cliff Harris and Brian Mills.

On September 15, 2010, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado conditionally certified the claims in the Bass v. Essential/PJCOMN case as a Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") collective action. A Notice explaining the lawsuit and how workers can join has been sent to all current and former delivery drivers who were employed by Essential/PJCOMN in 28 states at any time from March 28, 2008 to March 28, 2011. The deadline to join that case has passed.

Additionally, on June 1, 2011, the Court certified the claims in the Bass case as a class action under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for all current and former delivery drivers employed by defendants in the State of Colorado any time from July 7, 2006 to the present. On September 14, 2011, a Notice of Class Action Lawsuit was mailed to all eligible delivery drivers informing them about this part of the lawsuit, and explaining their rights. You do not have to take any action in response to the Rule 23 Class Action notice if you want to remain in the litigation as a class member.

Details about the Lawsuits

The lawsuits allege that PJCOMN/Essential, and Cliff Harris and Brian Mills violate federal (and state) wage and hour laws by failing to reimburse their pizza delivery drivers for their automobile expenses, resulting in the pizza delivery drivers being paid less than minimum wage. Specifically, the lawsuits allege that the amount paid by the pizza companies to pizza delivery drivers for automobile expenses are insufficient to reimburse them for the automobile costs incurred in delivering pizzas, including purchasing gasoline, vehicle parts and fluids, automobile and repair services, and automobile insurance, and suffering automobile depreciation.

If you have questions about these lawsuits, or would like additional information, please contact us at 1-866-714-0881 or Mark Potashnick at 314-997-9150. For a faster response, email us using the form below. Be sure to include a detailed message explaining your question. We will be back in touch with you as soon as possible.

Click here to view the Bass v. Essential Complaint

Click here to view the Sundine Complaint

Click here to view the Order Granting Conditional Certification

Click here to view the Order Granting Class Certification