Fried chicken fast food chain Popeyes is suing one of its former franchisees who owns restaurants in Chicago and Iowa for using its trademarks without permission

The company claims Asif Poonja and private equity company JAM Equities previously had franchise agreements with Popeyes, but they were terminated, according to court documents. The restaurants have continued to operate using the Popeyes brand despite the agreement terminations, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit says the agreements were terminated after the five Iowa restaurants failed to meet Popeyes' standards for food safety and brand standards. It says Poonja was given time to fix the problems but didn't.

Since then Poonja has been operating these locations as Popeyes without a franchise agreement, the lawsuit says.

The restaurants continue to operate as the case moves to federal court.

Poonja's lawyer has not commented on the claims.