The "Fat Bitch" is going to court.

Are U Hungry has filed a lawsuit against Mr. C's grill specialties, alleging that Mr. C's use of "fat" sandwich names infringes on Are U Hungry's trademarks.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Pennsylvania Middle District Court, alleges that the "fat" sandwich names used by Mr. C's, 119 S. Pugh St., are "visually, phonetically, and confusingly similar" to Are U Hungry's sandwich names.

"If you look at their menu, you'll see no less than 10 carbon copies," Scott Fields, Are U Hungry's lawyer, said.

Mr. C's owner, Mike Garaibeh, said he denies copying the sandwich names and vowed to fight the lawsuit.

Both restaurants' menus, published on Lionmenus.com, list "Fat Mojo," "Fat Sam," "Fat Vavavoom," "Fat Veggie Cat" and "Fat Koko" sandwiches, among others. Are U Hungry also boasts a "Fat Bitch" sandwich, while Mr. C's offers a "Fat Beach" sandwich.

Fields said Mr. C's, which opened in State College last month, could have chosen other sandwich names.

"They probably have a thousand different names they could have picked for their sandwich," Fields said. "Why do they have to pick these particular names? It doesn't exactly represent good faith."

Garaibeh, who had no lawyer as of yesterday said he plans to get one, said the original Mr. C's location in New Jersey has been using the contested names for years.

Fields said the similar sandwich names have created confusion among customers and vendors.

Are U Hungry first opened at 111 Sowers St. in June 2005, George Tanios, co-owner, said. Since then, the restaurant has opened a second restaurant in State College and another in Morgantown, W.V., he said.

Tanios said the restaurant has been selling "fat" sandwiches since it opened. The restaurant has held trademarks on sandwiches including "Fat Ranch," "Fat Drunk," "Fat Blunt," "Fat Bitch," and "Fat Bastard" since 2005, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also states that Are U Hungry "is mentioned in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia as being famous for its 'FAT' sandwiches."

Fields said he has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Mr. C's from using the "fat" sandwich names. Mr. C's must file a brief of opposition by March 26.

Garaibah said Mr. C's has been using the fat sandwich names for years at its New Brunswick location at Rutgers University.

Mr. C's New Brunswick location is part of an area known as the "Grease Trucks" that includes another restaurant called RU Hungry.

Ayman Elnaggar, RU Hungry's current owner, said he purchased the restaurant 10 years ago from Tanios' uncle.

Elnaggar said "fat" sandwich names, which have been used by all of the "Grease Trucks" since at least 1995, were thought up by Rutgers students. He said he had never thought of getting a trademark for the names and didn't know it was possible.

"Everyone says that he made the 'fat' sandwich," he said. "I'm sure that anyone could make any sandwich."

Tanios confirmed that his uncle used to own the RU Hungry store in New Brunswick. However, he insisted that RU Hungry was still the first store to invent the fat sandwiches.

"Everybody copied off my uncle," he said. "They made a mistake by not trademarking."

However, Tanios is not the only one with connections to other restaurants. Garaibeh said his partner used to work as a cook at Are U Hungry.

Fields said he was not sure if the case would be settled or go to trial.

"Our interest right now is to have the other side cease and desist from what we perceive as unfair competition," he said.