GrubHub faces potential class action lawsuit over restaurant listings
Two restaurants sued delivery app for listing eateries without permission
GrubHub is facing a potential class-action lawsuit after being sued by two restaurants because the digital food delivery company allegedly added their establishments to its service without permission.
The complaint -- filed by Antonia’s in Hillsborough, N.C. and the Farmer’s Wife in Sebastopol, Calif. -- was made on behalf of 150,000 non-partner restaurants that have been added to GrubHub since 2019.
The restaurants filed the lawsuit in federal court in Chicago on Monday,
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The plaintiff's attorneys, the Gibbs Law Firm, state on its web site "that by including restaurants, including their names and logos, on its website without authorization, Grubhub creates confusion for consumers and harms the restaurants’ reputation and business operation."
The lawsuit also claims that when someone orders delivery from a non-partner restaurant on GrubHub, the company has its drivers place the order directly with the restaurants and pretend to be the customers when they pick up the food.
GrubHub is being sued by two restaurants because it has included their information on its platform without permission. (iStock)
GrubHub told FOX Business the company does not comment on pending litigation.
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GrubHub isn’t the only food delivery company to include non-partner restaurants on its app. GrubHub started the practice in order to keep up with competitors DoorDash and Postmates.
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But those companies have also faced legal action for posting non-partner restaurants’ information on their platforms.
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Last month, DoorDash was sued because it allegedly mislabeled information about a St. Louis-based restaurant, saying the restaurant was closed or too far away for delivery when customers tried to order from the establishment.
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DoorDash was also sued by In-N-Out in 2015 for using the restaurant chain’s name and logo without permission, Restaurant Dive reported.
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Some states are taking action. Starting in January delivery apps will no longer be allowed to include non-partner restaurants in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Food Delivery Act into law in September.