Judge refuses to certify Chiptole class action over short-changing customers

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Update:

• A federal judge in Pennsylvania refused to certify a class action lawsuit arguing Chipotle failed to provide its customers with exact change amidst a nationwide coin shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The judge ruled the two Chipotle customers behind the complaint did not explain how they could show the fast casual restaurant chain did not give customers the correct change. 
• Chipotle register video footage would not support the allegations, according to the judge, who ruled customers who would self-declare would have to undergo “mini trials” to test their credibility. 
• The judge determined class certification would ultimately not be appropriate after ruling the customers did not show a reliable way to identify class members. 

Chipotle change class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Bridget McMahon and James Rice requested class certification in their complaint against Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. 
• Why: McMahon and Rice claim Chipotle shorted customers in Pennsylvania on their change during a nationwide coin shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court. 

(Dec. 30, 2022)

A pair of cash-paying Chipotle customers asked for class certification for their complaint alleging the Mexican food chain shorted Pennsylvania customers on their change during a nationwide coin shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Plaintiffs Bridget McMahon and James Rice claim Chipotle misappropriated consumer funds through its company policy of allegedly “short-changing customers who used cash to purchase food.”

In the event a customer used cash to make a purchase at a Pennsylvania Chipotle location, the Mexican food restaurant would withhold the coin portion of any change due, the Chipotle class action alleges. 

McMahon and Rice argue that limited discovery of the claims, originally made in August 2020, has been completed and that their expert reports have been filed, making the case “now ripe for certification.” 

“Chipotle pervasively and routinely short-changed customers who did not have exact change for cash transactions,” the Chipotle class action states. 

Chipotle aware of alleged policy to withhold coin change at Pennsylvania locations, class action claims

Chipotle was aware of the alleged misconduct and that the policy/practice occurred all around Pennsylvania “with Chipotle’s acquiescence and with impunity,” according to the Chipotle class action. 

McMahon and Rice claim Chipotle is guilty of breach of contract and unjust enrichment and of violating the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, among other things. 

McMahon and Rice want to represent a Pennsylvania class of consumers who used cash to purchase food from a Pennsylvania Chipotle location on or before Jan. 1, 2020, and who were not given the correct change. 

In other news, Chipotle was among a group of restaurant chains hit with a class action lawsuit earlier this year filed by consumers claiming the establishments violated biometric privacy law by allegedly using automated vice ordering technology to store customer voiceprints. 

Were you not given the correct change after making a purchase with cash at Chipotle? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Frank G. Salpietro of Rothman Gordon PC.

The Chipotle change class action lawsuit is McMahon, et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Case No. 2:20-cv-01448, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. 

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