Published
October 10, 2026
Tipped staff at Pineda Inn Bar & Grill in Brevard County, Florida, who had a tip credit applied to their hourly wage between April 2021 and August 2023 may qualify to claim $2.00 per hour from the Pineda Inn tip credit class action settlement. Claims are open through October 23, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for November 17, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. Class members have until October 23, 2026 to submit a claim online or mail a claim form postmarked by that date; the notice gives no time of day. The Brevard County Circuit Court has granted preliminary approval, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for November 17, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. by Zoom. No payments have been made, and none will be until the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.Free settlement alerts
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Status
Claims Open
Claim Deadline
October 23, 2026
Estimated Payout
$2.00 per hour
Covered hours · April 2021 – August 2023 · $120,000 cap
Proof Required
Yes
Class member ID from the emailed notice
What Changed Recently?
The case, Purvis-Wolf v. IR Tiki, LLC d/b/a Pineda Inn Bar & Grill, No. 05-2025-CA-028369, was filed in 2025 in the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit in Brevard County. It alleged that the restaurant took Florida’s tip credit on its servers’ and other tipped staff’s pay in a way that left them below the state minimum wage, in violation of the Florida Minimum Wage Act. The parties began settlement talks in January 2026 and signed the settlement agreement in early June 2026. The defendants are IR Tiki, LLC, which does business as Pineda Inn Bar & Grill, and an individual defendant. They deny any wrongdoing, and the court has not ruled on whether the claims have merit.Judge Patricia Strowbridge conditionally certified the class for settlement purposes, and the administrator emailed each class member a notice with an online claim form. A later agreed order moved the final approval hearing and the notice deadlines tied to it; the dates on this page are the current ones posted on the official settlement website.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is tipped staff employed by Pineda Inn Bar & Grill who had a “tip credit” applied to their hourly wage between April 2021 and August 2023 and who were not paid the minimum wage required by the Florida Minimum Wage Act as a result. The settlement agreement says the restaurant’s records show about 81 people in the class, and those people were identified from the defendant’s records and contacted directly.The class excludes the judge and Florida appellate judges and their immediate families, the released parties, counsel of record, anyone who already released these claims in a separate agreement with the defendant, and anyone who opts out.
What a tip credit is. Florida lets employers count part of a tipped worker’s tips toward the minimum wage. The Florida Constitution fixes that credit at the federal tip credit in effect in 2003, which works out to $3.02 an hour. The employer pays the rest in cash wages, and the tips have to bring the worker up to at least the full minimum wage. Wage lawsuits over tip credits usually allege that the credit was taken for hours or duties it did not lawfully cover; here, the notice describes the claim as a tip credit applied to non-tipped work.
How Much Can You Get?
Each class member who files a valid claim and does not opt out is paid $2.00 for each covered hour worked between April 2021 and August 2023. The notice describes those as hours of non-tipped work; the settlement agreement describes them as hours to which the tip credit was applied. The number of hours comes from the restaurant’s records.- Cap: Total payments are capped at $120,000. The agreement bases that figure on 81 class members and raises it by 5% for each class member found above 81.
- An illustration, not an estimate of any one payment: someone with 500 covered hours would receive $1,000; someone with 1,500 would receive $3,000. Spread evenly across 81 people, the $120,000 cap would average about $1,480 each.
- Claims-made, with a reversion: only people who file are paid. The defendant deposits money in stages as claims draw it down, and whatever is left after the checks expire, and after any second distribution, goes back to the defendant.
- What comes out of the fund: a service award of up to $5,000 for the class representative. Class counsel’s request of up to $70,000 in fees and expenses and the roughly $25,000 cost of administration are paid by the defendant separately and do not reduce class members’ payments.
- Second distribution: if uncashed checks leave enough to pay at least $10 to each person who cashed a first check, that money is redistributed to them pro rata.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The claim form sent by email carries a class member ID, and the online claim portal verifies the claimant before the form opens. No pay stubs or time records are needed; the hours are calculated from the restaurant’s payroll records. Class members whose email bounced were sent the notice by mail. The official website also has a page for updating a mailing address.What Is the Deadline?
- Claims: submitted online by October 23, 2026, or mailed postmarked by October 23, 2026. The notice does not state a time of day or time zone.
- Opt-out: a signed written request mailed to the administrator, postmarked by November 3, 2026.
- Objections and notices of intent to appear: filed with the court and sent to counsel for both sides by November 3, 2026.
- Final approval hearing: November 17, 2026 at 2:15 p.m., by Zoom.
How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed on the official settlement website, PinedaInnSettlement.com, under Online Claim Submission, using the class member ID from the emailed notice. The claim form asks the class member to choose how to be paid. The opt-out and objection requirements, including the mailing address for opt-outs and the counsel to be served with objections, are set out in the long-form notice embedded below.One correction worth knowing: the long-form notice’s sample opt-out wording refers to an unrelated settlement by mistake. The settlement agreement’s version of that statement names this case, Purvis-Wolf v. IR Tiki LLC, instead.
What Happens Next?
The court will consider final approval, class counsel’s fee request and the service award at the November 17, 2026 hearing. If the settlement is approved and becomes final, the administrator sends payments 30 days after the effective date, by the method each claimant chose. Checks are valid for 90 days. If no class member objects, the judgment is final one day after it is entered; an objection or an appeal pushes that date back. The official website posts updates.Sources and Verification
- Official settlement website — case home, key dates and court documents
- Long-form class notice (PDF)
- Settlement Agreement and Release (PDF)
- Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 24 — minimum wage and tip credit
Questions
Who is in the Pineda Inn settlement class?
The class is tipped staff employed by Pineda Inn Bar & Grill who had a tip credit applied to their hourly wage from April 2021 through August 2023 and who were not paid the Florida minimum wage as a result. The settlement agreement puts the class at about 81 people.
How much does the Pineda Inn settlement pay?
$2.00 for each covered hour worked between April 2021 and August 2023, paid only to class members who file a valid claim. Total payments are capped at $120,000, and the cap rises 5% for each class member above 81.
Does the Pineda Inn settlement need a claim form?
Yes. Payment goes only to class members who submit a claim online or mail the claim form postmarked by October 23, 2026. The emailed notice carries a class member ID used to file.
What happens to Pineda Inn settlement money nobody claims?
It goes back to the defendant. The settlement is claims-made: the defendant funds payments as claims are paid, and any balance left after checks expire and any second distribution reverts to it.
Are the lawyers' fees taken out of the $120,000?
No. Class counsel’s request of up to $70,000 in fees and expenses and an estimated $25,000 in administration costs are paid by the defendant separately. A service award of up to $5,000 for the class representative is paid from the settlement fund.
Official Settlement Notice
Settlement Agreement
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Settlement Amount
Up to $120,000
Case Title
Purvis-Wolf v. IR Tiki, LLC d/b/a Pineda Inn Bar & Grill
Case Number
05-2025-CA-028369
Court
Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Brevard County, Florida
Final Approval Hearing
November 17, 2026 at 2:15 PM
By Zoom
Administrator
American Legal Claims
Official Website
Pineda Inn Settlement
