Applebee’s class action lawsuits overview:
- Who: Plaintiffs Jesse Lema and Shilo Daniels independently filed separate class action lawsuits against Apple American Group LLC and Apple American Group II LLC.
- Why: Lema and Daniels claim the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant franchisee failed to protect private information that was entrusted to it during an April 2026 data breach.
- Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in Ohio federal courts.
Two new class action lawsuits allege an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant franchisee failed to adequately protect private information entrusted to it during an April 2026 data breach.
The two complaints are among at least eight proposed class action lawsuits filed against Applebee’s franchisee Apple American Group in the wake of the data breach, Law360 reports.
In one complaint, plaintiff Jesse Lema claims the Applebee’s franchisee failed to invest the resources necessary to protect her private information and that of other class members in connection with a data breach the franchisee discovered on April 9, 2026.
“Defendant collects and stores its employees’ private information. Defendant, as a substantial business, had the resources available to take seriously the obligation to protect private information,” the Applebee’s class action lawsuit says.
Lema, who says she worked as an Applebee’s server from approximately 2016 to 2019, argues current and former Applebee’s employees affected by the data breach now “face a litany of harms” due to the “magnitude and severity” of the data breach.
“Theft of private information is gravely serious. Private information is an extremely valuable property right,” the Applebee’s class action lawsuit says.
Lema claims the Applebee’s franchisee is guilty of negligence, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment. She wants to represent a nationwide class of all persons whose private information was maintained by the Applebee’s franchisee and compromised in the data breach.
She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of actual, exemplary, punitive, compensatory, statutory and nominal damages for herself and all class members.
Applebee’s class action: franchisee acted ‘careless’
In a separately filed class action lawsuit, plaintiff Shilo Daniels claims the Applebee’s franchisee failed to adequately protect the private information and “even encrypt or redact this highly sensitive information.”
“This unencrypted, unredacted private information was compromised due to defendants’ negligent and/or careless acts and omissions and their utter failure to protect individuals’ sensitive data,” the Applebee’s class action lawsuit says.
Daniels further argues the Applebee’s franchisee’s conduct “amounts at least to negligence,” and that the company “disregarded the rights of the plaintiff and class members.”
The Applebee’s franchisee ultimately began sending notice letters to persons affected by the data breach on or around Aug. 18, 2026, according to the Applebee’s class action lawsuit.
Daniels wants to represent a nationwide class of all persons whose private information was compromised as a result of the data breach, including all persons who received a data breach notice from the franchisee.
The plaintiff claims the Applebee’s franchisee is guilty of negligence/negligence per se, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment. He demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of actual, compensatory and statutory damages for himself and all class members.
In another complaint involving a data breach, two former Nissan North America employees filed a class action lawsuit against the automaker, claiming it failed to protect the personal information of its current and former employees.
Were you affected by this Applebee’s data breach? Let us know in the comments.
Lema is represented by Emmet E. Robinson of Robinson Law Farm LLC and Israel David, Adam M. Harris and Mark A. Cianci of Israel David LLC. Daniels is represented by Leanna A. Loginov of Shamis & Gentile P.A.
The Applebee’s data breach class action lawsuits are Daniels v. Apple American Group LLC, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-02023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and Lema v. Apple American Group LLC, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-02013, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
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