A startup called Kytch, which is repairing damaged ice cream machines at McDonald’s, has filed a massive lawsuit against the fast food chain, according to Wired.
The startup’s co-founders, Melissa Nelson and Jeremy O’Sullivan, are seeking at least $ 900 million in damages.
Kitsch’s case was long overdue. They claim that McDonald’s was involved in fake advertising, among other schemes, Wired reported.
Since 2019, Kitsch says it has a phone-sized device designed to be installed in broken McDonald’s ice cream machines. These devices will then intercept the internal communications of the ice cream machines and send signals to a smartphone or web device to help store owners repair their machines.
But things got worse for Kytch and McDonald’s in November 2020, when the fast food chain sent an email asking all franchisees to remove the device from their machines.
McDonald’s claims that Kytch’s product violates the machine’s warranties, “captures confidential information” and even has the ability to “cause serious injury”.
“Nothing is more important to us than food quality and safety, so all equipment at McDonald’s restaurants is thoroughly inspected before being approved for use,” a McDonald’s spokesman told Wired. “After learning that the unapproved Kytch device was being tested by some of our franchisees, we made a call to better understand what it was and subsequently reported potential concerns for the safety of franchisees. There is no conspiracy here. “
Kitsch denied the allegations of human injury, calling it “slanderous.”
Nelson claims that the emails not only led to broken ice cream machines, but also led to a backlog of sales for the start-up company on takeoff.
“They have tarnished our name. They scared our customers and ruined our business. They were anti-competitive. “They lied about a product they said would be released,” Nelson told Wired. “McDonald’s had every reason to know that Kitsch was safe and had no problems. It was not as dangerous as they claimed. That’s why we’re judging them. “
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