In-N-Out restaurant
In-N-Out Burgers has filed a federal lawsuit against a YouTuber for trademark infringement, trespass and business defamation over video posts that the restaurant chain alleged were “lewd, derogatory and profane.”
In-N-Out filed the lawsuit against YouTuber Bryan Arnett in the Central District of California on June 20. The complaint accuses Arnett of dressing up as an In-N-Out employee during visits to several of the restaurant chain’s locations in Southern California in April and interacting with customers in a way that did harm to the company’s reputation and its brands.
Arnett allegedly made false and misleading statements that took aim at the company’s reputation and food quality, including saying In-N-Out had cockroaches and condoms in its food and suggesting that employees put their feet in lettuce served to diners, according to the lawsuit. In addition, Arnett allegedly asked a potential customer if he would “sleep with his wife and allow Arnett to watch,” the complaint says.
“(The) defendant later posted these videos to his social media platforms, falsely telling hundreds of thousands of viewers that plaintiff’s restaurants are unsanitary and that plaintiff is not a welcoming or family-friendly establishment,” the lawsuit says. “(The) defendant was warned to remove these ‘prank’ videos – among other reasons, because they infringe plaintiff’s federally registered trademarks – but failed to respond and continues to disseminate them online.”
As of this week, Arnett’s In-N-Out videos no longer seem to be available publicly. The SFGate website, however, quotes from one of the videos before it became unavailable.
“When I went out and filmed the video, I kinda knew what kind of waters I was stepping into,” he is reported to remark in the video. “... I wouldn’t say I’m worried about the lawsuit. Like yeah, sure, it’ll probably be annoying or whatever, but whatever’s gonna happen is gonna happen.”
In a statement emailed to the Southern California Record, In-N-Out’s chief legal and business officer, Arnie Wensinger, stressed that the company has worked diligently for more than 70 years to welcome customers to its restaurants and to give them enjoyable experiences.
“Recently, we have seen an increase in online media personalities who have chosen to play pranks or practical jokes that are designed to embarrass, humiliate or upset our customers, their families and our associates,” Wensinger said. “These individuals have engaged in behavior that includes deception, trespass, lewdness and other actions that have then been posted on social media for their personal and monetary gain at the expense of our customers and the In-N-Out Burger brand.”
He emphasized that the legal action represents a warning to others who might want to do harm to the company brands in the future.
“By filing this lawsuit, we are putting all such individuals on notice that In-N-Out Burger will aggressively pursue all legal rights against these individuals going forward,” Wensinger said.
The lawsuit indicates In-N-Out doesn’t see Arnett as a simple prankster going for a few guffaws.
“(The) defendant ensured that his remarks – from the purely defamatory to the lewd, unsettling and bizarre – did not come across as mere jokes by some unaffiliated prankster but instead reflected directly and negatively on In-N-Out,” the complaint says.
In-N-Out is asking the court to enjoin Arnett from entering the premises of any of the chain’s restaurants, from displaying the company’s trademarked items on videos or from implying that the defendant is in any way affiliated with In-N-Out. The restaurant chain also wants an award amounting to three times the defendant’s profits that resulted from the alleged unlawful acts described in the lawsuit, trebled compensatory damages, punitive damages and a reimbursement of attorney fees and legal costs.
