Branson, Mo. Fogle Restaurant Fee Settlement Checks Mailed

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Top Class Actions viewers are beginning to receive settlement checks from a Branson, Mo. Fogle Restaurants meal fee class action settlement.

Reportedly, the checks they are receiving are worth as much as $10.

According to the Fogle class account lawsuit, restaurants owned by Fogle included a 1 percent to 1.5 percent fee on top of the cost of the meal that was designated for a Community Development Fund.

Customers argued that they were not properly notified that they would charged the fee.  Restaurant patrons also claim that they were not notified that the fee was being collected for non-charitable purposes.

The Fogle restaurants that reportedly charged the Community Development Fund fee without properly notifying customers are the following:

• Plantation
• Peppercorn
• Baldknobbers
• Fall Creek Steak and Catfish House
• Great American Steak and Chicken House
• Whipper Snappers

People who dined at these restaurants between Feb. 28, 2009 and Feb. 28, 2014 and were charged a Community Development Fund fee on top of the cost of their meal were entitled to benefits from the Fogle restaurant class action settlement.

In agreeing to settle the issue, the owners of Fogle restaurant are not admitting liability, but chose to settle the meal fee class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of continuing to litigate the issue.

The Fogle restaurants class action settlement was granted preliminary approval on July 17, 2018.

The Fogle restaurant class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Richard McMillin, who claimed that not only did Fogle fail to notify customers of the fee, but that they were not authorized to charge the fee.

According to McMillin, the company “unjustly, unfairly, and unlawfully implemented a scheme that resulted in its customers paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for something [the company describes] as ‘Com Dev Fund’ at the bottom of its receipts.”

Reportedly, the fee is automatically added onto each check, in addition to the food cost, service fee, and tax.

McMillin states that the practice is not mandated by state or local law, and violates the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Allegedly, the Community Development Fund fee is not for charitable purposes, as suggested by the name, but in fact is a way for the company to gain additional revenue.

The deadline to file a claim in the Fogle restaurants class action settlement was Oct. 28, 2018, and the final hearing was on Dec. 14, 2018.

Congratulations to our Top Class Actions readers who submitted a valid claim and got PAID! If you missed out, sign up for our free newsletter to receive updates on new class action lawsuits and settlements. You can also check out which class action settlements are still accepting claims in our Open Class Action Settlements section.

McMillin and the class members are represented by Williams Dirks Dameron LLC, The Hodgson Law Firm LLC, and Strong-Garner-Bauer PC.

The Fogle Restaurants Meal Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Richard McMillin v. Fogle Enterprises Inc., et al., Case No. 14AF-CC00154-01, in the Circuit Court of Christian County, Missouri.