Virtual Dining Concepts LLC sued YouTube star James Donaldson, its partner in the MrBeast Burgers food-delivery business, saying he reneged on a contract and damaged the brand.
(Bloomberg) — Virtual Dining Concepts LLC sued YouTube star James Donaldson, its partner in the MrBeast Burgers food-delivery business, saying he reneged on a contract and damaged the brand.
Donaldson, who uses the name MrBeast in his online videos, sued the company last week, saying lax quality control had resulted in a slew of customer complaints. Fans found the food “disgusting,” he said, and he asked a Manhattan judge to terminate his deal with Virtual Dining.
In its suit, filed in New York state court Monday, Virtual Dining said Donaldson has “turned away customers, and shattered hard-won relationships with vendors and suppliers, damaging the bottom lines of hundreds of restaurants across the country and around the world.”
A spokesperson for Donaldson declined to comment.
Virtual Dining, which was co-founded by longtime restaurant industry entrepreneur Robert Earl, said its damages were in the “nine-figure range.” Earl’s company partners with local restaurants, commercial kitchens and food-delivery services to bring online food orders to customers. In addition to MrBeast, it operates a cookie company with singer Mariah Carey and a chicken-wing business with Nascar.
The case is Virtual Dining Concepts LLC v. Beast Investments LLC, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (Manhattan).
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