Man threatens to sue Popeyes after he wasted time and fell for a scam in futile attempt to obtain a chicken sandwich

A man in Tennessee is threatening to sue the popular restaurant chain Popeyes after he spent "countless driving time" and lost money to a scammer trying to obtain one of its sold-out chicken sandwiches.

What sandwiches?

On Aug. 12, Popeyes announced that it was launching a chicken sandwich. A social media back-and-forth the following week with the Twitter accounts of Chick-fil-A and Wendy's led to a substantial boost in popularity for the new product.

However, Popeyes vastly underestimated the popularity of the sandwich and many people, including this author, who failed to get a chicken sandwich within the first few days of the product's launch, found that they were sold out.

Why is this man suing?

Craig Barr of East Ridge, Tennessee told the Chattanooga Times Free Press that he had driven to multiple locations, wasted "countless driving time," and damaged his car's tires in an attempt to find this sandwich. He said he "was humiliated when his friends laughed at him," according to the paper.

Desperate, he tried to buy one of the sandwiches on the black market from a man standing behind a Popeyes location who charged him $25 — $5 for the sandwich and $20 for the troubles. Alas, the chicken sandwich bootlegger was a fraud and ran off with Barr's money.

Barr claimed that the company must have planned the shortage in order to gain publicity. He filed the civil action Wednesday to Hamilton County Circuit Clerk Larry Henry seeking $5,000, according to the paper.

"It's totally deceptive. Who runs out of chicken? It's a big fiasco. Someone has to stand up to big corporate," he said. "Everyone is captivated by these sandwiches. They've got everyone gassed up on them."

Popeyes has not returned a request for comment, the paper reported.