preliminary injunction that went to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2012. Three more franchisees filed suit in April 2013—Druco Restaurants based in St. Louis, People Sales & Profit Co. based in Georgia, and Scott's S&S Inc. in Pennsylvania. A settlement was reached with these franchisees in 2014, but terms of the settlement were not made public. Steak 'n Shake filed suit against Denver franchisees Larry and Christopher Baerns in July 2013 over the same issues, with a counterclaim soon after. Steak 'n Shakes won their lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Baerns when judge ruled that the Baerns intentionally overcharged customers. The complaints by the franchisees also question whether Steak 'n Shake promised franchise results that could never actually be achieved under its policies. Employee classification lawsuits 286 managers in the St. Louis area filed and won a lawsuit against Steak 'n Shake on grounds that they were misclassified as exempt employees unable to earn overtime. Steak 'n Shake had to pay $7.7 million in damages. They were sued again by an even larger group of 1100+ managers on similar grounds; as of 2019, that case was pending. See also List of hamburger restaurants References External links 1934 establishments in Illinois Companies based in Indianapolis Restaurants in Indianapolis Economy of the Midwestern United States Economy of the Southeastern United States Fast-food hamburger restaurants Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1934 Restaurants in Illinois 2008 mergers and acquisitions