For the Record Court Shaves Plaintiff List In Pizza Hut Suit

Dateline: DALLAS —
A U.S. District Court judge has granted a motion by Pizza Hut to strike a substantial number of plaintiffs from a class-action lawsuit pending in California, the company announced in July.
The move by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California reduces the number of plaintiffs to 87, or around 2.5 percent of all of those eligible to sue the fast-food giant.
Pizza Hut parent, Yum! Brands, disclosed the development in its 10-Q filing in July.
The original suit, filed in 2003, alleges that Pizza Hut improperly denied overtime pay to restaurant general managers by classifying them as salaried employees.
Attorneys for lead plaintiff Ann Coldiron last year claimed that up to 3,100 restaurant managers might claim damages reaching some $300 million.
But the court's move may render that estimate obsolete.
Yum! said it will continue to "vigorously defend" itself in the suit. In recent years, other restaurant companies have opted to settle with plaintiffs in wage and hour disputes in California.