On January 31, 2023, two pizza delivery drivers at a Pizza Hut in Crawley, Texas, filed a class action lawsuit against their employers, ADT Pizza LLC, Adam Diamond, and David Tetens for unpaid wages. Later, a third driver, from Ohio, “opted in” to the case. This lawsuit is named Mirzai v. ADT Pizza, LLC.
The ADT franchisees own and operate 180 Pizza Hut stores located in Texas, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.
The plaintiffs seek to represent all ADT Pizza delivery drivers in federal court. The plaintiffs claim that Diamond, Tetens and the Company broke the law by underpaying its delivery drivers since they allegedly failed to properly reimburse the drivers for their automobile expenses.
Specifically, plaintiff argues that the drivers should have been reimbursed for their vehicle expenses at the IRS standard business mileage rate, which is currently $.655 per mile.
Unfortunately, the company’s alleged practices are common. Nearly every food delivery company pays their drivers in a similar way. The company requires the drivers to provide a car for work, pay for all expenses related to the car, and take on the risk of the car being damaged (or themselves being hurt!). The companies are, in effect, receiving an interest-free loan that covers one of their biggest business expenses. In return, they often pay the drivers back at about half the IRS rate.
Our firm is trying to put a stop to this practice. This is one of dozens of cases our firm has filed across the country seeking to recover unpaid vehicle expenses for delivery drivers.
You can learn about some of our other active cases here.
You can read about the theory of the case here.
You can read about some of our victories here.
The defendants recently filed a motion to compel the drivers’ claims to arbitration. If the defendants are successful, each driver interested in taking back their unpaid mileage would have to proceed individually in a private court system called arbitration. You can learn more about arbitration in the pizza delivery world by reading this blog: [link to arbitration blog post]
If you are a delivery driver who has worked at ADT-owned Pizza Huts or any other pizza company around the country, contact our firm to find out if you might be owed unpaid mileage. We can explain the process you can go through to get those expenses back. Give us a call at (513) 202-0710 or fill out the form below for a free consultation.
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ADVERTISING ONLY: The information on this blog is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
Past results obtained by Biller & Kimble, LLC are no guarantee of future results. Each case or matter is different and must be judged on its own merits.