A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit cannot continue as a class action suit against TGI Friday's by customers angry over a discrepancy in the price of their drinks.

Debra Dugan of New Jersey sued the popular restaurant chain several years ago claiming TGI Friday's engaged in "menu engineering" to exploit its customers by charging different prices for the same drinks depending on whether they were ordered at the bar (where she was charged $2.00) or a dining table (where she was charged $3.59), all in violation of state consumer protection laws. According to news reports, two other plaintiffs eventually joined the suit.

A three-judge panel of the state appeals court reversed a lower court ruling that granted class action status for anyone who ordered unpriced drinks at one of the 14 company-owned New Jersey restaurants. In its holding, the court noted that people who either didn't look at the menus or ask the prices before ordering couldn't necessarily claim damages.

“The class definition erroneously includes all persons who purchased an unpriced soda, beer or mixed drink regardless of whether they reviewed the menu before purchasing the beverages,” the panel wrote. “If a person did not look at the beverage section of the menu, TGIF’s failure to list prices on the menu had no causal nexus to the person’s decision to purchase a particular beverage.”

The court decision allows the individual plaintiffs to go ahead with their claims.

—Source:  nj.com