Fast food chain Carl's Jr. has been accused in a class action lawsuit of violating California privacy laws by allegedly allowing its drive-thru tech vendor, Presto Automation, Inc., to record customer conversations at the restaurant's drive-thrus.
The suit alleges that Carl's Jr. facilitated the so-called "wiretapping" of electronic communications at its California drive-thru locations using Presto's automated ordering assistant.
Named plaintiff, Travis Cohen, of Valley Village, claims that customer communications were routed through Presto's servers and used to assist Carl's Jr. with fulfilling orders and improving Presto’s technology capabilities. According to the complaint, this was done without customers' prior consent, allegedly violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act.
Cohen claims he ordered at the drive-thru at a Carl's Jr. restaurant in Van Nuys in February.
The lawsuit seeks to expand the action to include potentially millions of people who ordered at Carl's Jr. restaurant drive-thrus in California.
The plaintiffs are seeking statutory damages of $5,000 per alleged violation of the CIPA law, multiplied across potentially millions of alleged violations. They are also seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney fees.
The lawsuit was filed March 20 in Los Angeles federal court.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys L. Timothy Fisher and Joshua R. Wilner, of the firm of Bursor & Fisher, of Walnut Creek.