A franchisee of a Mexican restaurant chain is suing Google seeking monetary and injunctive relief for sending customers to a landing page that is set up without the restaurant's permission and taking a cut of ordering fees.
Left Field Holdings, a franchisee of Lime Fresh Mexican restaurants, filed the proposed class-action suit in US District Court and asked other restaurants to join the suit.
According to the law firm Keller Lenkner, which filed the suit on behalf of Left Field Holdings, when customers search for a restaurant on Google, a Restaurant Information Box appears that displays an 'Order Online' button that will route them to a third party instead of directly to the restaurant, who have to pay a fee for these third-party orders.
Google takes a cut of those fees at the restaurant's expense.
Google denied the claim, saying instead that the "Order Online" feature was intended to "connect customers with restaurants they want to order food from," and that restaurants can "indicate whether they support online orders or prefer a specific provider, including their own ordering website."
Google spokesperson José Castañeda insisted that they do not receive any compensation for orders or integrations with this feature and disputes the mischaracterizations of our product and will defend ourselves vigorously.
But the plaintiff alleges that when Google changed its search tactics in 2019, the company never bothered to obtain permission from the restaurants to sell their products online and designed its websites to appear to the user to be offered, sponsored, and approved by the restaurant when they are not."
The lawsuit claims these actions infringe upon the restaurant's intellectual property rights by using their business names, logos, and trademarked images.
Jason Zweig, a partner at Keller Lenkner, stated that it is appalling that Google would take advantage of an industry going through a challenging time and, through deceptive and illegal practices, take a portion of their hard-earned profits for itself.


China Services PMI Beats Forecasts as Strong Demand Supports June Growth
Gold Price Today: Bullion Heads for First Weekly Gain as Weak U.S. Jobs Data Eases Rate Hike Fears
DOJ Clears Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Without Conditions
Oil Prices Slip as Oversupply Concerns and U.S.-Iran Talks Shape Market Outlook
Denmark Central Bank Intervenes to Support Krone Peg Against Euro
Brazil to Phase Out Gasoline Subsidy First as Diesel Support Stays Longer
Brazil Supreme Court Convicts Eduardo Bolsonaro Over U.S. Lobbying Efforts
U.S. Supreme Court to Review Trump Administration Appeal on Immigrant Detention Without Bond Hearings
Japan Signals Readiness to Act on Yen as Intervention Speculation Grows
DOJ Sues Virginia Over Law Enforcement Mask Ban
Gold Price Surges Above $4,120 as Weak US Jobs Data Lowers Fed Rate Hike Expectations
Goldman Sachs Says China Competition Weighs More on EU Growth Than Trade Deficit
Fortescue Faces Class Action Over Sexual Harassment Claims at Australian Mining Sites
US Appeals Court Keeps Trump’s 10% Global Tariff in Effect During Ongoing Legal Battle
Asian Currencies Stay Under Pressure as Dollar Holds Near 13-Month High Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report
US Jobs Report Preview: June Payroll Growth Seen Slowing as Fed Rate Decision Looms 



