In-N-Out Burger intends to aggressively defend itself against pranksters after filing a lawsuit against an online content producer.
“For over seven decades, we have worked hard to create a welcoming and enjoyable experience for every Customer who visits us. 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,” In-N-Out Burger Chief Legal and Business Officer Arnie WensingerArnie Wensinger wrote in an official statement from the Southern California chain.
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“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. 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.”
In-N-Out filed a federal lawsuit in Santa Ana on June 20 against Bryan Arnett of Fillmore alleging business defamation, copyright infringement and common law trespass, among other things. The 21-page complaint seeks a jury trial.
The complaint alleges Arnett visited and filmed himself at several In-N-Out locations in Southern California on Easter Sunday, when the chain was closed for the holiday, and presented himself as an In-N-Out employee to any customers that came by, making “lewd, derogatory and profane” remarks about the brand.
It says the defendant posted prank videos on social media and failed to remove them after being warned to do so.
Related videos now seemed to be removed from social media platforms.
See also: In-N-Out Burger’s leader shares how the chain improves its ingredients
After the court filing, the story was picked up by several news outlets, including KTLA and CBS.
In-N-Out’s headquarters are currently in Irvine, but the chain has announced plans to relocate to Baldwin Park, where it was founded in 1948, and Tennessee, where it is building an “eastern territory” hub.
Fillmore is a city with less than 17,000 people in Ventura County, about 20 miles north of the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.