On June 12, 2018, notice of a proposed $2.2 million settlement was sent out to around 93,000 class members who filed a class action lawsuit against restaurant delivery service, Caviar. Plaintiffs allege that the company misled patrons into paying an 18% service charge that was labeled as a “gratuity fee” on orders.
Named plaintiff Spencer Janssen, claims that from January 20, 2012 until August 21, 2015, Caviar required customers to pay an 18% gratuity charge for its food delivery services. Janssen alleges that users of the food delivery service, which is owned by mobile payment company Square Inc., reasonably believed that the 18% fee was passed on to delivery drivers. However, plaintiff argues that the gratuity fee was actually a service charge and was not distributed as a tip credited to its drivers. Caviar removed the mandatory gratuity fee from all orders beginning August 21, 2015.
Per the terms of the settlement, Caviar will issue up to $1,435,000 in Caviar credits., in the amount of approximately $15.28 per class member and expire within 180 days of activation. Class members will be able to transfer credits to non-class members. Attorney fees for class counsel are likely to be about $755,000.
The case is: Spencer Janssen v. Square Inc. et al., Case No.: CGC-16-549980, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.
Counsel Financial provides working capital credit lines exclusively for the plaintiffs' bar in all states except California, where credit lines are issued by California Attorney Lending.