Judge Dismisses TGI Friday’s Hidden Drink Prices Class Action

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TGI Friday’s has dodged a proposed class action lawsuit for allegedly misleading customers on the price of drinks, with the presiding judge noting that the plaintiff failed to establish his standing to bring the claim.

Plaintiff Michael Grace initially filed the class action lawsuit after allegedly ordering a mixed drink at a TGI Friday’s in Evesham, N.J., a drink he said was offered for sale without a price. Grace claims that he learned only after consuming the drink that the price was “a staggering $10.39.”

The class action lawsuit claims that TGI Friday’s menus include prices for all food items but deliberately excludes beverage costs in order to trick customers into paying more. Grace alleges that this allows the restaurants to sell drinks at prices above a customer’s expectations, describing some charges as “excessive.”

The complaint further accuses TGI Friday’s of “‘menu engineering’ – the deliberate and strategic construction of menus to exploit consumer psychology and manipulate customer perceptions,” claiming that Friday’s is also “charging different prices for the same beverage depending on where in the restaurant the beverage is ordered.”

Marketing drinks without making its cost clear on its menu is a violation of the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, according to the lawsuit.

It goes on to claim that anyone that has purchased a beer, soda or mixed drink from a New Jersey TGI Fridays from July 14, 2014 onwards is entitled to a $100 civil penalty, per drink purchased.

This lawsuit was moved to federal court in 2014, joining two other cases in the state making similar allegations and expanding the proposed class action nationwide to include hundreds of thousands of TGI Friday’s patrons who “purchased items from the menu that did not have a disclosed price from Oct. 6, 2008, onward.”

TGI Friday’s fired back, stating that Grace must be “some sort of stooge for plaintiff’s counsel” and they asked the court to dismiss the claim against the restaurant chain and its owners, arguing that Grace’s original lawsuit was filed shortly after his purportedly unsatisfactory experience at the Evesham TGI Friday’s was too coincidental.

Grace’s lawsuit contends that he visited a corporate-owned TGI Friday’s three months after the July 14 cutoff date.

The proposed Class disputed the allegation in September, stating, “Unless and until there is a record before this court of an impropriety, any argument about his standing to bring a claim is both premature and represents an improper attempt by TGIF to unfairly taint the court’s perception of Mr. Grace.”

Still, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss on grounds that Grace failed to establish the connection between TGI Friday’s owners and the state and calling into question Grace’s standing in the case. The judge however, left it open for Grace to refile the claim as long as he notifies the companies properly.

“[P]laintiff fails to allege facts suggesting that his breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims arise out of or relate to Sentinel or Tri-Artisan’s activities in New Jersey,” the judge said. “The ‘relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation’ is therefore not sufficient for this court to exercise specific personal jurisdiction over either Sentinel or TriArtisan.”

Grace is represented by Sander D. Friedman and Wesley Hanna of The Law Office of Sander D. Friedman.

The TGI Friday’s Hidden Drink Prices Class Action Lawsuit is Grace v. TGI Friday’s Inc. et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-07233, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.