According to Stuff.co.nz, “Hell Pizza is being sued for holding up the sale of a franchised store because it thinks the new manager does not speak English well enough.”

“Flame, the company which owns the licence to the Albany store, has filed papers in Auckland District Court claiming Hell’s Wellington owners, Callum Davies, Stu McMullin and Warren Powell, were unfairly impeding the sale. Hell has launched a counter-suit saying Flame’s management of the Albany branch has damaged its brand and insisting it is able to dictate who owns any franchise under its brand. Hell Pizza director Mr Powell said the proposed buyer of the store, Kai Wen Enterprises Limited, and its nominated branch manager were rejected because they could not speak English, had no formal training and performed poorly under assessment.”