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On Wednesday, a Florida federal judge refused Pizza Hut of America Inc.’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit that accuses the pizza company of improperly collecting state sales tax on delivery fees.
This Pizza Hut class action lawsuit was originally filed on Dec. 9, 2014 by plaintiff Lauren Minniti and included three counts against Pizza Hut. The first count is an alleged violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUPTA), second is negligence, and the third count is unjust enrichment.
Minniti alleges that Pizza Hut collected state sales tax on delivery fees for items purchased through the company. According to the Pizza Hut class action lawsuit, Minniti ordered a pizza to be delivered to her home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and was charged tax on the $12 pizza plus the $2.75 delivery charge. She argues this practice is deceptive, unfair, negligent, and encourages unjust enrichment.
Minniti looks to represent all customers who were charged taxes on the delivery fees for food and beverages purchased from Pizza Hut restaurants.
Pizza Hut asserted in the motion to dismiss the delivery tax class action lawsuit that the plaintiff did not state a cause of action, and said that collecting tax on delivery charges was not deceptive, unfair, or misleading to customers.
Judge Tuter agreed that the plaintiff had adequately pleaded for the purposes of her claim. As for Pizza Hut’s other claims, the judge noted, “The determination of whether a complained of act or practice is unfair under FDUTPA requires a factual determination, which is outside the scope of this Court’s review when presented on a motion to dismiss.”
Pizza Hut said it was the customer’s responsibility to seek a refund from the state for overpaid taxes and that she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies. Minniti argued that Florida’s Administrative Code affirms that if a taxpayer pays tax when none is due, the taxpayer should receive the refund from the business who overtaxed, not the state revenue department. This potentially puts the ball back in Pizza Hut’s court to rectify the situation.
In response to Pizza Hut’s other arguments to dismiss the claims from the class action lawsuit, Judge Tuter said that the plaintiff adequately pleaded a cause of action for negligence and agreed with the plaintiff that she had exhausted all her options to administratively remedy the situation.
In the court document denying Pizza Hut’s motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit, Judge Tuter added the following: “It should be noted the court is not passing on the merits of this class action in denying the motion to dismiss. Whether this class action can be certified in the future is a matter the court may have to resolve on dispotitive motions. Defendant Pizza Hut of America, Inc. shall file an answer to Plaintiff’s complaint within twenty (20) days of the date of this Order.”
Lauren Minniti is represented by Scott Owens and Patrick Crotty of of Scott D. Owens P.A. and Joseph Siprut and Ismael Salam of Siprut PC.
The Pizza Hut Class Action Lawsuit is Lauren Minniti v. Pizza Hut of America Inc., Case No. 14-023335 CACE (07), in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of the State of Florida.
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16 thoughts onPizza Hut Delivery Tax Class Action Lawsuit Moves Forward
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The fee itself is not the issue here. Charging SALES tax without providing an item they sold you is the problem.
Lmao order pizza quite often upwards of $54-60