Pizza Nova Class Action Posts

As the Globe and Mail reports, this case was certified in December, allowing it to proceed as a class action:

The lawsuit passed its first legal hurdle in December when an Ontario Superior Court judge permitted it to proceed – a process known as certification – and the case is among the province’s first significant class actions tackling employment issues at a major franchisor. If successful, the lawsuit could push franchisors to shoulder greater responsibility for workplace violations at their franchisees.

The Globe spoke to Tina Yang about the importance of the case:

Tina Yang, a partner with Toronto labour law firm Goldblatt, which is spearheading the case, said low-wage workers often struggle to pursue workplace complaints individually, making class actions a “valuable and important” tool to address alleged wrongdoing.

The Globe also summarized some of the factors that led the court to certify the class action:

Representative plaintiff Juan Jose Lira Cervantes worked at four Toronto-area Pizza Nova franchises as a driver between 2013 and 2019, earning between $6 and $9 an hour, according to his statement of claim. He was classified as an independent contractor, a category of worker that is excluded from provincial employment laws, including minimum wage. Though he earned tips, he also paid for expenses such as gas out of pocket. Pizza Nova did not make contributions to federal benefit programs, including the Canada Pension Plan, on Mr. Cervantes’s behalf, the statement of claim says.

In certifying Mr. Cervantes’s class action, the court relied on evidence from three drivers and more than 40 franchisees, as well as Pizza Nova’s internal operations manual setting company-wide policies.

That manual directs Pizza Nova franchisees to hire drivers as independent contractors rather than employees; drivers also signed contracts stating they were self-employed.
The class action alleges that, unlike true independent contractors, Pizza Nova drivers had little control over their working conditions.
Drivers did not set their own pay rates or make their own shift schedules, the certification decision notes. The company’s operation manual described drivers as franchisees’ “business cards,” and required them to wear Pizza Nova-branded uniforms. Deliveries were assigned through a centralized system developed by Pizza Nova and used by all its franchisees.

“Despite this, they are paid and compensated at levels that are significantly below the minimum standards set out in the Employment Standards Act,” said Goldblatt partner Josh Mandryk, co-counsel on the case.

Read the entire article here. (paywalled)

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The Superior Court of Justice certified this class action following a hearing on November 13 and 14, 2024. This means that the lawsuit may proceed as a class action.

You can read the decision here.

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The parties have completed cross-examinations of the witnesses in the certification motion, including almost 40 defence witnesses.

A certification hearing, where the judge will hear the parties’ evidence and argument on the question of whether the action should be certified as a class proceeding, will likely be scheduled in the coming months.

We will provide further updates as they become available.

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The certification hearing scheduled for November was postponed so that the parties can conduct cross-examinations of witnesses.

The cross-examinations are expected to take place in the spring. We will provide a further update when the certification hearing date has been rescheduled.

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The motion for certification in the proposed Pizza Nova class action has been scheduled to be heard by the Superior Court of Justice on November 24, 2021. 

You can read the plaintiff’s motion material here.

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CBC’s As It Happens interviewed Simon Archer and Juan Jose Lira Cervantes

As It Happens spoke to GP’s Simon Archer and Juan Jose Lira Cervantes, the proposed representative plaintiff in this class action.

Simon explains what the class action is about, and Juan shares his experience working as a driver for Pizza Nova. 

When asked about taking on big corporations like Pizza Nova, Juan explains, “I find it to be a duty to my fellow drivers to do this and to fight for the rights of all of us.”

Listen here: The interview starts at about the 51:10 mark.

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The Toronto Star talks to GP’s Josh Mandryk and Ella Bedard about the proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Pizza Nova deliver drivers

Goldblatt Partners LLP has launched a proposed class action lawsuit against Pizza Nova and its franchises. The proposed class action claims that Pizza Nova’s Ontario franchises misclassify their delivery drivers as independent contractors, rather than as employees. They also fail to pay drivers the minimum wage and benefits they are entitled to under employment standards legislation.

In a Toronto Star report on the lawsuit, Josh Mandryk and Ella Bedard explain more about the claim and the the proposed representative plaintiff, Juan Jose Lira Cervantes:

Josh Mandryk, a lawyer with Goldblatt Partners — the Toronto-based labour law firm launching the class action — described driver misclassification as “pervasive in the pizza delivery industry” and said it “denies these workers of core workplace protections.”

The COVID-19 pandemic “highlights not only how critical these workers are to Pizza Nova’s operations, but also how important it is that they receive the same basic workplace protections as other employees,” added co-counsel Ella Bedard.

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As reported by the CBC in 2018, the provincial Ministry of Labour found a Domino’s Pizza franchise that previously employed Cervantes misclassified him as an independent contractor. The franchise was ordered to pay him more than $25,800. Cervantes only received $6,300 because the franchise voluntarily dissolved, even though “the same pizza business continues to operate at the very same location,” Mandryk said.

“This experience highlights deep flaws in Ontario’s employment standards regime and its failure to protect working people,” Mandryk told the Star.

“Mr. Cervantes decided to pursue a class action and to be the representative plaintiff in this action because he wanted to create real and systemic change at Pizza Nova and in the pizza delivery business more broadly.”

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Goldblatt Partners LLP is counsel in a proposed class action against Pizza Nova Take Out Ltd., Pizza Nova Restaurants Ltd., and its franchisees who operate over 140 Pizza Nova store locations across Ontario (collectively referred to as “Pizza Nova”).

The proposed class action has been filed on behalf of all contract delivery drivers who worked for Pizza Nova or any of its franchisees in Ontario since January 1, 2012.

The statement of claim alleges, among other things, that Pizza Nova violated the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA”) and its contracts of employment with its delivery drivers by misclassifying them as “independent contractors” and failing to pay them minimum wage, overtime, vacation pay and public holiday pay in accordance with the ESA.

If you have worked as a pizza delivery driver for Pizza Nova since February 14, 2018 and think you may be a member of the class, register here for more information.

Read the Statement of Claim

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