Bun B and his Trill Burgers team just scored a massive legal win that has them celebrating into the New Year.
According to The Houston Chronicle, the rapper’s award-winning burger chain decisively rejected false ownership claims from former business partners in an arbitration ruling.
Former U.S. Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa handed down the final verdict on New Year’s Eve, rejecting every single claim made by Patsy and Benson Vivares against the restaurant empire. The siblings had been fighting for over a year, claiming they created the original smashburger recipe and deserved ownership stakes.
“We beat the brakes off those lying motherf—ers. Happy New Years!” said Jourdain Poupore, the attorney representing Trill Burgers co-founder Nick Scurfield.
His blunt celebration perfectly captured how the legal team felt after months of battling what they called completely false accusations. The victory came after a bitter dispute that painted a messy picture of how the popular burger chain actually started.
No one disputes that Trill Burgers was founded in 2021 through a partnership among the Vivares siblings, hospitality entrepreneur Andy Nguyen, Houston rap legend Bun B, and marketing expert Nick Scurfield.
But that partnership fell apart just one year later when the business relationship between the siblings and the other founders completely fractured. The Vivares siblings filed a lawsuit in 2023, alleging they were the original creators of the Smashburger concept and still owned a stake in the business.
Bun B and his team responded forcefully, not only denying those claims but also accusing the siblings of stealing $45,000 from the company. The legal battle got nasty fast, with both sides throwing serious accusations at each other.
The case eventually went to arbitration, where both sides could resolve their differences privately rather than in open court. Costa’s ruling completely rejected the Vivares siblings’ claims and confirmed that Bun B, Nguyen, and Scurfield are 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 the legendary rap duo UGK with Pimp C back in 1991. Bun has also released five solo albums using the Trill theme: Trill, II Trill, Trill OG, Trill OG: The Epilogue and Return of the Trill.
That trill mentality clearly carried over into this legal fight. Instead of backing down from false accusations, Bun B and his team stood their ground and fought until they won completely.
Trill Burgers can now focus on what they do best: serving up award-winning smashburgers.
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