Pastor sues Whole Foods; grocery chain plans to countersue

A pastor in Texas is taking legal action against a grocery chain because of a homophobic word iced on a cake he ordered.

Jordan Brown, the pastor and founder of the non-denominational Church of Open Doors, is suing Whole Foods for emotional distress as well as for not properly responding to his complaint.

According to Christian Today, Brown ordered a cake from one of the Whole Foods stores and requested that it be decorated with "Love Wins." However, on his way home, he discovered that a gay slur was iced on it as well.

Brown, who is gay, complained, but the store denied the allegations.

"We stand behind our bakery team member, who is part of the LGBTQ community, and the additional team members from the store, who confirmed the cake was decorated with only the message 'Love Wins,'" the company's statement reads, as quoted by Christian Today.

Brown, however, is not convinced and neither is his lawyer, Austin Kaplan.

"My client doesn't have blue icing in his house," said Kaplan. "This is not a hoax. He received the cake this way, and Whole Foods' response doesn't help us."

The lawsuit they filed, according to the publication, says that the store initially apologized, offered to have the cake replaced, and promised to terminate the employee responsible for the deed. In a subsequent phonecall the pastor received, however, a Whole Foods employee informed him that they found nothing wrong based on the investigation they conducted.

The lawsuit called the conduct of Whole Foods "extreme and outrageous," which, it said, goes beyond the bounds of decency, something that would be "regarded as atrocious and intolerable in a civilized community."

Whole Foods, on their end, is also planning to file a counter-lawsuit.

In a press release, the company said: "After a deeper investigation of Mr. Brown's claim, we believe his accusations are fraudulent and we intend to take legal action against both Mr. Brown and his attorney."

They argued that the offensive word would have been seen through the transparent cover of the box. They also have a security footage of the cashier scanning the UPC label on top of the box. They explained that in Brown's video, the label was on the side and bottom. 

According to NBC News, the grocery chain will be seeking sanctions against Kaplan, at least $100,000 in damages, plus a jury trial.