Chickie’s and Pete’s Wins Crab Fries Lawsuit

Courthouse News Service reports that Chickie’s and Pete’s parent company, CPC Properties, has prevailed in its lawsuit against Dominic Inc. for showing an image of a crab next to the word “fries” in its menu. Crab fries are, of course, what C&P are known for.

There is no actual crab in the Philadelphia restaurant chain’s signature side dish. The crab house and sports bar says it conceived the item soon after its 1977 opening while trying to figure out what to do with leftover crab seasonings in the winter months.

Once CPC moved for judgment on the pleadings this past May, Dominic responded that it “recognized the validity” of the complaint, but that it inadvertently violated the injunction.

Senior U.S. District Judge Berle Schiller partially granted CPC’s motion last week, finding the allegations show a “likelihood of confusion.”

The judge threw out CPC’s unjust enrichment claim, however, finding that Dominic was not allegedly aware of any increased profits or other benefits, which it would not be “an unconscionable injustice” to let Dominic retain.