Popeyes chicken sandwich caused 'emotional damage,' lawsuit claims
It's far from the only time a chicken sandwich has let someone down, but it may be the first time a chicken sandwich has caused a lawsuit.
A Tennessee man is suing Popeyes after suffering the chain's constant lack of chicken sandwiches. Craig Barr tried and failed to pick up a now-infamous sandwich, wasting "countless time driving," blowing a tire, and even falling victim to a poultry scam in the process, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports via Barr's lawsuit.
The drama all began with Popeyes' Aug. 12 launch of its crispy chicken sandwich, which some claim to be a close competitor to — or even better than — Chik-Fil-A's signature item. Customers started lining up, and the chain quickly began selling out, sparking rumors of black market chicken deals. In his suit filed Wednesday, Barr said he fell victim to a false chicken salesman, meeting him behind a Chattanooga Popeyes and giving him $25, only for the con artist to go inside the store and never come back.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Barr went on to accuse Popeyes of deceptive advertising, saying the chain purposely underproduced the sandwiches to get media attention. Barr apparently fell for that hype, driving between locations until he blew a tire and cracked a rim on his car, racking up $1,500 in damages. He's looking for $5,000 for his "emotional damage," namely because "friends laughed" at him for the wild chicken chase.
When reached for a comment, Barr told the Times Free Press the following: "I can't get happy; I have this sandwich on my mind. I can't think straight. It consumes you." Popeyes told local ABC News affiliate WCTV that it doesn't comment on "threatened litigation."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The rise of runcationsThe Week Recommends Lace up your running shoes and hit the trails on your next holiday
-
Amorim follows Maresca out of Premier League after ‘awful’ seasonIn the Spotlight Manchester United head coach sacked after dismal results and outburst against leadership, echoing comments by Chelsea boss when he quit last week
-
‘Jumping genes': How polar bears are rewiring their DNA to survive the warming ArcticUnder the radar The species is adapting to warmer temperatures
-
TikTok secures deal to remain in USSpeed Read ByteDance will form a US version of the popular video-sharing platform
-
Unemployment rate ticks up amid fall job lossesSpeed Read Data released by the Commerce Department indicates ‘one of the weakest American labor markets in years’
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
