Blank Rome Successfully Represents TGI Fridays, Inc. and OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC in Defeating Class Certification in Two Consumer Class Actions
Blank Rome LLP successfully represented TGI Fridays, Inc. and OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC before the New Jersey Appellate Division and Supreme Court in two related class action cases.
In Dugan v. TGI Fridays, Inc., the plaintiffs alleged that TGI Fridays omitted beverage prices from its menus, thus causing customers to spend more at the restaurant than they would have if the prices were listed. In Bozzi v. OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC, the plaintiffs alleged that OSI maintained a practice of raising the prices of beverages during the course of a customer’s visit without giving notice of the change.
After multiple rounds of appeals, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted certification in both cases to address whether they were appropriate for class treatment. The Blank Rome team then obtained a favorable, 90-page consolidated opinion that saved each of the clients over a billion dollars in damages. The Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs’ claims in Dugan were not suitable for class treatment due to a lack of predominance. The court allowed the claims in Bozzi to proceed as a class, but it severely limited the scope of the class.