NC man sues Hardee's over meager Hash Rounds order, claims his civil rights were violated

NORTH CAROLINA -- A North Carolina man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Hardee's restaurant chain, claiming he didn't get enough hash browns because of his ethnicity.

In the lawsuit, Tommy Martin, of Mount Holly, claimed the fast-food restaurant violated his civil rights by giving him a smaller than normal quantity of the Hash Rounds he ordered.

The 58-year-old, who is black, alleged that his skin color led him to be served fewer of the fried-potato breakfast item.

He filed the handwritten lawsuit Friday at the US District Court in Charlotte. Martin said the incident, which happened in 2018 at a Hardee's in Gaston County, made him feel stupid and gave him a fear of food.

Martin told the Charlotte Observer that he felt like he was in a scene from the segregated 1960s.

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

Hardee's has declined to comment, saying the lawsuit is against an independently owned and operated franchise.

The company did tell Huff Post that it is aware of the lawsuit and "we take these allegations seriously."