Man sues Hardee's after employees reportedly shorted him food, says the eatery violated his civil rights and left him with a fear of food

A North Carolina man is suing Hardee's restaurant over a couple of Hash Rounds, according to WTVD-TV.

The man, who is black, says that the restaurant violated his civil rights, and believes the infraction occurred because of the color of his skin.

What are the details?

Tommy Martin, 58, filed a handwritten lawsuit on Friday at the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina, accusing the company of violating his civil rights.

Martin says that he received a much smaller portion of Hash Rounds — Hardee's brand of hash browns —than typical, and believes it to be because of his skin color.

He explains that an employee only placed two Hash Rounds on his tray, and refused to provide him with more when asked. In the suit, Martin says that the incident — which took place in 2018 at a Hardee's restaurant in Gaston County, North Carolina — left him with a fear of food.

He told the Charlotte Observer that it was similar to an incident that would occur in 1960s North Carolina, complete with being surrounded only white people.

"It's not a money issue," he insisted. "I just want to be treated fairly."

According to the Observer, Martin is seeking a jury trial on claims that the restaurant violated his civil rights by not receiving the same amount of Hash Rounds normally served to customers in a regular order.

"The manager came back and said that what you get," Martin said. "Got home with tear in mine eye. I have got to do something."

The manager did refund his money for the purchase, the HuffPost reported.

What did Hardee's say?

A spokesperson for the company told the Huff Post that they are aware of the lawsuit.

Hardee's is aware of the lawsuit filed this week which alleges that a guests' civil rights were violated while visiting one of our independently owned and operated franchised locations over a year ago. As a company we take these allegations seriously, however, as this lawsuit is pending against a franchisee, we have no additional comment on the matter at this time.

You can read the lawsuit here.