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In-N-Out Burger sues delivery service DoorDash

In-N-Out Burger has filed a lawsuit against the third-party food delivery service DoorDash for delivering In-N-Out food without permission.

November 13, 2015

In-N-Out Burger has filed a lawsuit against the food delivery service DoorDash for delivering In-N-Out food without permission, according to a CNN report.

The California-based burger chain also alleged that DoorDash has been wrongfully using the restaurant's logo despite having no affiliation to the restaurant itself, in a complaint filed Nov. 6. According to the filing, In-N-Out sent a letter in April 2014 asking DoorDash to stop using In-N-Out's trademarks on their website and stop delivering its products.

In-N-Out is seeking a jury trial. The chain claims trademark infringement and unfair competition, according to a TechCrunch.com report.

Also according to Tech Crunch.com, a key piece of the filing is:

Defendant's use of Plaintiff's famous trademarks implies that Defendant not only delivers In-N-Out products to its customers, but that the quality and services offered by Defendant is the same as if consumers had made purchases directly from Plaintiff. Upon information and belief, the quality of services offered by Defendant does not at all comport with the standards that consumers expect from Plaintiff’s goods and services. Further, Plaintiff has no control over the time it takes Defendant to deliver Plaintiff's goods to consumers, or over the temperature at which the goods are kept during delivery, nor over the food handling and safety practices of Defendant's delivery drivers. While Plaintiff adheres to the Food Code, on information and belief, Defendant does not adhere to such regulations, including with regard to compliance with required food safety and handling practices.

According to the filing, TechCrunc.com reported, In-N-Out contacted DoorDash for the first time in April, requesting that the startup stop using In-N-Out’s logo on its site, and stop delivering or offering to deliver In-N-Out’s food. DoorDash CEO Tony Xu responded, according to the lawsuit, and said that DoorDash had removed references to In-N-Out from its website. But, in July 2015, the lawsuit states that DoorDash had started delivering In-N-Out’' food again, and began using an imitation logo on its website. DoorDash, according to the lawsuit filed, did not respond to In-N-Out's letter in July, nor to a follow-up letter in August demanding that DoorDash immediately cease and desist using In-N-Out's trademarks. In-N-Out sent a final letter to DoorDash in late September, but DoorDash did not respond.

DoorDash currently delivers meals in more than 250 cities and has partnered with national chains like 7-Eleven and Taco Bell, according to NBC News. 

Additionally, KFC has partnered with DoorDash to provide on-demand delivery to its customers in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County, with delivery expanding to other cities in the coming months, QSRWeb.com reported.

Neither DoorDash nor In-N-Out Burger responded to QSRWeb.com's request for comment.

This is not the first time DoorDash has come under fire.

DoorDash is listing the menus and logos of some restaurants on its service in New York without the owners' permission, according to a New York Eater report. DoorDash is also charging a delivery fee and higher menu prices. Some restaurants told New York Eater that they don't mind being on the site, but others feel that DoorDash has been misrepresenting the relationship.

DoorDash, which launched in New York about eight months ago, New York Eater reported, sends its delivery people to pick up food from restaurants and bakeries. It charges customers a $2 to $3 fee in Manhattan and a $3 to $4 one in Brooklyn after the first use.

However, not all restaurants on DoorDash know that they're listed with the service. Tommy Ferrick, owner of Delilah'' Steaks in Greenpoint, told New York Eater he rejected an offer from a DoorDash salesperson months ago due to a 20- to 25-percent commission fee. More than 50 percent of his cheesesteak business is from delivery, and he's already paying GrubHub a commission that ends up being three times higher than his rent every month, the report stated. Ferrick is trying to get more customers to order directly through the restaurant. Nevertheless, his business started getting pick-up orders from DoorDash. He looked on the site and saw that the Delilah's Steaks logo and full menu was listed as an available restaurant, with significant price markups, the report stated.

A cheesesteak costs $11 in the shop, for example, but DoorDash charged $16.95 for it.

"I was livid," Ferrick told New York Eater.