Bun B and his Trill Burgers team just scored a huge legal victory to celebrate the New Year.
The rapper’s award-winning burger chain has decisively rejected a former business partner’s false ownership claims in an arbitration ruling, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Former 5th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Greg Costa issued the final ruling on New Year’s Eve, dismissing every claim Patsy and Benson Vivares had brought against the restaurant empire. The siblings have been arguing for more than a year, claiming they created the original burger recipe and deserved ownership stakes.
“We stopped those lying bastards. Happy New Year!” said Jourdain Poupore, an attorney representing Trill Burgers co-founder Nick Scurfield.
His blunt celebration perfectly embodies how the legal team is feeling after months of battling what they say are completely false accusations. The win comes after a heated debate that painted a confusing picture of how the popular burger chain actually got its start.
Trill Burgers was founded in 2021 by the Vivares siblings, hospitality entrepreneur Andy Nguyen, Houston rap legend Bun B and marketing expert Nick Scurfield.
But the partnership fell apart just a year later when the business relationship between the siblings and the other founders completely collapsed. The Vivares siblings filed the lawsuit in 2023, claiming they were the original creators of the Smashburger concept and still own a stake in the business.
Bun B and his team responded forcefully, not only denying the claims but also accusing the siblings of stealing $45,000 from the company. The legal battle quickly became very heated, with both sides making serious accusations against each other.
The case eventually went to arbitration, which allows the parties to resolve their differences privately rather than in open court. Costa’s ruling completely rejected the Vivares brothers’ claims and confirmed that Bun B, Nguyen and Scurfield were the rightful owners of the Burger Empire.
For Bun B, this victory protects more than just a business; it protects a legacy. The Houston native helped create legendary rap duo UGK back in 1991 along with Pimp C. Bun has also released five solo albums using Trill themes: Trill, II Trill, Trill OG, Trill OG: The Epilogue and Return of the Trill.
That trembling mentality apparently carried over into the legal battle. Bun B and his team did not back down from the false accusations, but stood their ground and fought hard until they were victorious.
Trill Burgers can now focus on what they do best: serving award-winning burgers.
