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Litigation
9 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2015
Litigation  
Litigation

5.Litigation

 

Litigation

 

The Company is involved in a number of lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings, including the matter identified below, consisting of intellectual property, employment, consumer, commercial and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. In accordance with ASC 450, Contingencies, the Company has made accruals with respect to these matters, where appropriate, which are reflected in the Company’s financial statements. We review these provisions at least quarterly and adjust these provisions to reflect the impact of negotiations, settlements, rulings, advice of legal counsel and other information and events pertaining to a particular case.

 

Perrin v. Papa John’s International, Inc. and Papa John’s USA, Inc. is a conditionally certified collective and class action filed in August 2009 in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri (“the Court”), alleging that delivery drivers were not properly reimbursed for mileage and expenses in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Approximately 3,900 drivers out of a potential class size of 28,800 opted into the action. In late December 2013, the Court granted a motion for class certification in five additional states, which added approximately 15,000 plaintiffs to the case. The trial, originally scheduled for August 2015, was stayed in June 2015, pending U.S. Supreme Court review of another relevant case regarding certification. After the stay was granted, the parties reached a settlement in principle, which has been preliminarily approved by the Court in September 2015. The Court has scheduled a final approval hearing in January 2016. The Company continues to deny any liability or wrongdoing in this matter. In accordance with this preliminary settlement agreement, the Company recorded a pre-tax expense of $12.3 million in June 2015 under the provisions of ASC 450, Contingencies.  There was no impact for the quarter ended September 27, 2015. This amount is separately reported as Legal settlement expense in the condensed consolidated statements of income.