BENTONVILLE — A restaurant filed a lawsuit in Benton County Circuit Court on Thursday seeking control of its Facebook page.
Rogers attorney Jennifer Gray filed the lawsuit on behalf of Rogers Catfish House against Jason Flynn and Amanda Flynn, who were employees of the restaurant located at 2102 1/2 S. Eighth St.
Jason Flynn was fired May 27 and Amanda Flynn was fired June 19, according to the lawsuit. The pair could not be reached for comment.
The Flynns created, maintained and were administrators for the restaurant’s Facebook page, the suit says. They were asked to add one of the restaurant owners as an administrator for the page, according to court documents. The lawsuit claims the Flynns have refused.
The restaurant regularly used its Facebook page to advertise and communicate with customers since opening in January, according to the complaint. It hasn’t been able to communicate with its customers through Facebook since June 8, and there have been inappropriate statements on the Facebook page in response to customer comments, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims the inappropriate comments are hurting business and turning customers away, according to court documents.
It argues under Arkansas law the refusal to relinquish the Facebook page is a deceptive trade practice, along with a theft of trade secrets and customer lists.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Jason Flynn and Amanda Flynn to immediately relinquish control of the Facebook page. It also asks the court to order that the Flynns no longer use the Facebook page until the case is resolved, according to court documents.
A hearing has not been scheduled for the case. The case is assigned to Benton County Circuit Judge John Scott.
Tracy M. Neal can be reached by email at [email protected] or Twitter @NWATracy.