A Long John Silver's franchisee in Tennessee has filed a lawsuit against Captain D's and its parent company Sagittarius Restaurants, accusing them of deceptive trade practices and consumer law violations, according to a story by Courthouse News Service.
D-Sea, the Long John Silver's franchisee, is seeking damages from its chief local competitor, Captain D's Seafood Kitchens, for allegedly running newspaper ads saying, "With the closing of Long John Silvers we will honor any competitors coupons and be happy to serve you." Captain D's offered customers a free one-piece fish and fries.
According to the complaint filed in Knox County, Tenn., Circuit Court, no stores closed in Knox County, where the ad ran, but one did in Loudon County, where no ad ran. D-Sea, which owns and operates a number of Long John Silver's restaurants in Tennessee, including 14 in Knox County, says its primary competitor in that county is Captain D's Seafood Kitchen.
According to the complaint, D-Sea claims "the untrue and intentionally misleading statements in the advertisment placed by the defendants were calculated to harm the business and goodwill of Long John Silver's and to benefit the business and goodwill of the defendants and did, in fact, do so." The ad ran in a newspaper that "serves and is distributed to virtually every county in which plaintiff D-Sea owns and operates a Long John Silver's restaurant" in East Tennessee.
A spokeswoman for Sagittarius Restaurants said in a story in Nation's Restaurant News that Captain D's had "directed the advertisement in question for publication only in the community in which the closed restaurant was located."
D-Sea is seeking $260,000 in compensatory damages for deceptive trade, misrepresentation, consumer law violations and treble damages. It also seeks an undetermined amount of punitive damages as well as court costs and attorneys' fees.
