Papa John’s hears complaints from customers on a daily basis, but a recent lawsuit filed by an Illinois man is likely the first of its kind for the Kentucky-based pizza company.
According to the Courier-Journal, Illinois resident Zachary Tucker is the chief plaintiff in a class action lawsuit filed against Papa John’s on Jan. 13.
His reason for suing the company? They charged him 16 extra cents.
The lawsuit centers around a little-known law in the state of Illinois that forbids businesses from imposing a tax on delivery fees. If the cost of a company’s product is more than its delivery fee, the company cannot collect tax on the delivery fee itself.
In the case of Zachary Tucker, Papa John’s charged 6.85% sales tax on his delivery fee, totaling 16 extra cents. The vigilant customer took umbrage with this additional tax, spending $218 in court fees to file a class action claim against the pizza chain.
If Tucker wins his lawsuit, it would essentially mean that every single Papa John’s customer in Illinois who has opted for delivery would be eligible for reimbursement.
Approximately 93% of Americans eat at least one piece of pizza per month, so Papa John’s could be looking at quite the payout if Tucker is victorious in court.
According to Fortune, Tucker’s class action lawsuit is claiming “negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract/breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, and violation of the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.”
Tucker is requesting that the courts order Papa John’s to do three things: stop charging the tax on delivery fees in Illinois, pay restitutions to all who were affected by the illegal charge, and provide compensation for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees.
The lawyers for both Tucker and Papa John’s have yet to comment on the lawsuit.
