Cowdrey files wage-and-hour class action against Pizza Hut franchisee in Pierce County

Christine Cowdrey, identified as the plaintiff, filed a wage-and-hour class action against Emerald City Pizza, LLC, doing business as Pizza Hut, on March 6 in Washington Superior Court for Pierce County, with Seattle employment lawyers Ferraro Vega listed as plaintiff counsel. The only facts in the initial filing summary are the parties, the court, the March 6 filing date, and counsel: the reporting of the complaint ends mid-word, printed as "allegin", leaving the complaint’s causes of action, class definition, employment dates, and damages unspecified.

Because the filing text available to reporters is truncated, the Cowdrey complaint’s factual allegations cannot be stated with certainty. The truncated report provides no statutory bases, no proposed class period, and no exhibits or named witnesses; those specifics must come from the full complaint and any exhibits filed in Pierce County Superior Court to determine whether Cowdrey is asserting claims similar to past pizza delivery driver suits.

The Cowdrey filing arrives against a backdrop of litigation involving Pizza Hut franchisees and delivery-driver reimbursement claims. In a 2011 federal case against NPC International Inc., a judge, John W. Lungstrum, cleared the way for more than 20,000 pizza delivery drivers to join a class-action suit and, in his words, found that plaintiffs "have made substantial allegations and submitted evidence that the putative class members — defendant’s delivery drivers — were together the victims of a single policy that resulted in their failure to receive the federal minimum wage." That NPC litigation alleged the franchise failed to reimburse vehicle expenses adequately, and plaintiffs’ counsel Rick Paul of Stueve Siegel Hanson, LLP said, "The mileage reimbursements paid by NPC and other pizza companies to pizza delivery drivers are shockingly low." Rick Paul also noted an internal discrepancy in 2011, saying NPC paid its managers the Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rate of 51 cents per mile in 2011 but did not offer that rate to its delivery drivers. NPC’s response in that litigation was, "We believe this litigation is lawyer-driven and will continue to vigorously defend our position. We value our delivery drivers and believe we reimburse them fairly. We look forward to having the opportunity to prove this once the court evaluates the merits of this case."

More recent franchise litigation and settlements show the scale and potential exposure of such claims. A Georgia-filed suit, first brought in April of 2023, was summarized in a settlement report that a franchise owning more than 300 Pizza Hut locations agreed to pay $4,750,000. That settlement, described as "filed on October 18," was said to cover drivers who worked at 321 locations in Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin between June 21, 2019 and September 27, 2021, and to cover "reimbursements, unpaid wages, liquidated damages, and other fees." The Forsythe summary states that the Georgia class-action represents "more than 1000 drivers" from the listed states and that plaintiffs alleged required purchases including "gas, vehicle parts and repair, car insurance, cell phone plans and other out of pocket expenses."

Separate litigation against the Hallrich franchise group has followed a different procedural path. Biller & Kimble’s materials note Hallrich operates "over 100 Pizza Hut stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Indiana" and allege per-mile reimbursements "often around $.30 per mile" that "is not enough to cover the drivers’ vehicle expenses." The Hallrich matters include Jefferis v. Hallrich Incorporated, No. 1:18-cv-687, filed September 2018, in which a court ordered individual arbitration, and Dimidik v. Hallrich Incorporated, No. 3:21-cv-306, filed November 2021.

The immediate factual record in Cowdrey v. Emerald City Pizza, LLC is limited to the March 6 filing, plaintiff name, defendant name, court, and plaintiff counsel Ferraro Vega; reporters and interested parties should obtain the full Pierce County complaint and any response filings to learn the precise claims, the proposed class, and the relief sought.