PHILADELPHIA - While being sued by a customer, Malik Pitts, who claims he got food poisoning, popular Mexican cuisine franchise Chipotle has filed a notice to remove the case from state court to federal.
Chipotle Mexican Grill filed the notice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 13. Pitts initially sued in the Court of Common Pleas of Pennsylvania County on Feb. 21.
He alleged in the lawsuit that he experienced “severe and disabling injuries” such as “food poisoning, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, epidurals for his back pain and seizures,” according to the notice. He’s suing for at least $150,000 amid his claims of expensive medical bills and his loss of self-worth.
Chipotle argued that it’s not a citizen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
“Accordingly, this lawsuit is properly removable from Pennsylvania State Court to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania,” Chipotle noted in the notice.