It looks like Domino’s has a little more on their plate than just pizza in Minnesota. Allegedly, Domino’s Pizza is facing a federal class-certified lawsuit for unlawfully keeping the delivery charges paid by their customers. The charges, according to the lawsuit, should have rightfully been given to all 1,600 drivers who have been employed at Domino’s from March 6, 2006 through February 28, 2010.

The Domino’s customers believed that the charges were going directly to the driver, which according to the lawsuit, is Minnesota law for the company to give the money to the drivers. The outcome of this case could majorly impact the decision of other cases in Minnesota that Pizza Hut, Papa Johns Pizza, and delivery drivers.

Represented by E. Michelle Drake, Matthew H. Morgan, Matthew C. Helland and Paul J. Lukas of the Nichols Kaster, PLLP law firm, the case is titled Luiken, et. al. v. Domino’s Pizza if you’d like to stay current with the issue.

Ben & Jerry’s newest ice cream flavor might be a little too hot to handle for some supermarkets to carry thanks to pressure from the Mississippi-based organization One Million Moms. The group claims that the name goes too far with its locker room humor and is inappropriate for young children. The organisation has declined to publicly denounce the company’s newest ice cream flavor name to avoid directing additional publicity to the Ice Cream maker.

Despite the outcry, a Ben & Jerry’s spoke person stated that Schweddy Balls is being carried by about the same amount of retailers as any other specialty flavor and that this one is actually outpaced previous flavors in terms of sales.

(via The Huffington Post)

In an interview with the OC Register, Taps Fish House and Brewery brewmaster Victor Novak expressed plans to gradually expand their business and cultivate awareness of their Orange County and Inland Empire-based brew. The expansion will not necessarily concern opening new restaurant locations, but rather acquiring new brewing locations in order to bring their beer to various locations across Southern California.

Novak says that he is looking to show off his award-winning beer in Los Angeles County and into portions of San Diego while making his beer more prominent in Orange County. Novak has also expressed interest in bottling his beer, however, that plan is not likely to come to fruition for at least the next few years.

(via OC Register)

The last thing you would want to find in your burger is a couple of needles. Such was the case of a Hawaii-based soldier sitting down to his meal. Army Staff Sgt. Clark Bartholomew purchased a Triple Stacker from a Burger King in Schofield Barracks back in December and took it home. When Bartholomew ate the burger, he found that a needle in the burger had pierced his tongue. Another needle was found in his small intestine, leaving him hospitalized for six days.

Bartholomew filed a lawsuit this week in Honolulu against the restaurant. Hopefully he gets some compensation for all that trouble. Talk about scary.

(via: Huffington Post)

Popular gourmet waffle stand Bruxie, located near Chapman University in Orange, CA was robbed earlier this morning around 5 am. Thieves have stolen a storage trailer located behind the stand containing miscellaneous items and gear belonging to the waffle stand. No one was harmed during the theft, however. Bruxie is offering $1000 to anyone who can lead them back to their stolen property. A bulletin was also posted on their Facebook page asking for the public’s help in retrieving their stolen goods. (via OC Register)

It is definitely a possibility at this point. The Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. is currently in talks with India’s Tata Coffee Ltd. to collaborate in bringing the Starbucks franchise into the country’s growing economy.

In years past, India was a predominantly tea-drinking nation, however that all changed as Indian culture began to absorb Western sensibilities from various media. As a result, the demand for coffee in India has grown over 80% in the last decade, according to government figures, which translates to over 108,000 metric tons of coffee consumed in that period of time.

If Starbucks does manage to open locations in India, it will be facing some stiff competition from India’s current leader in retail coffee chains, Cafe Coffee Day. It is being speculated that Indians may be seeing the Starbucks mermaid within the span of the next three months.

(Via The Wall Street Journal)

Ladies, if you want healthy babies, better start eating better! A new study shows that women who eat a healthy diet primarily of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains during there key child-bearing years will have a lower chance of bearing babies with birth defects.

The study, which was funded by the government, was conducted between 3,824 mother who bore children with birth defects and 6,807 mothers with healthy children. The study also suggests that a healthy diet is always preferable to taking supplements.

While the results may seem obvious, it’s always nice to see some data! And there you have it — eat those veggies, ladies. The future counts on it.

[THX: Huffington Post] Photo Credit: Marc Romenelli

IHOP is being sued by The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission for sexual harassment. The General Manager of several of the pancake chains in the New Mexico area is being accused of sexual harassment towards female employees. According to reports from the affected womens’ attorneys, they had to resign as they were unable to tolerate the harassment.

The employees are asking for enough to cover lost wages and damages as well as an assurance that they will be protected in the future from further discrimination.

[THX: NRN]

So it looks like playing with toys will make kids healthier.

A study conducted by the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing shows that children’s taste preferences for either healthy or fast food can be influenced. The children, through various studies, were given toys that correlated to different foods. The more “collectable” the toy was, the healthier it was. The toys that came with the fast foods were deemed “non-collectable.” The children would then choose the healthier options.

Unfortunately, this also means that kids can be enticed to eat unhealthier by toys as well. Sound familiar? Yup, that’s the American Fast Food Industry for you.

Futurity goes into the study in detail.

[THX: Futurity]

Coffee exports from Columbia have seen it’s lowest numbers since 1988.

DBR reports, Columbia’s National National Federation of Coffee Growers reveal that coffee exports in the country have dropped 38% in August. Coffee growth has been struggling since the storms hit the country last year. The exports have declined with 374,000 bags of coffee against last years 599,000 bags shipped.

Savor your next cup of coffee, folks. These are some hard times ahead.

[THX: DBR Photo Credit: Jeff Kubina]