By Andrew Tait

In response to a Tuesday declaration by KFC that it would no longer honor free-giveaway vouchers issued during a discount chicken promotion, lawyer Liu Cong filed a lawsuit citing a breach of contract.

KFC issued its statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying that all vouchers for discounts during the afternoon and evening parts of the day were fake, and that its franchises would not accept them.

According to a Beijing News report, Cong claimed the company broke consumer rights laws by refusing to honor the face value of its issued coupons.

Liu explained Wednesday he had gone to KFC the previous evening and had been turned away, being told that his coupons were fake. Liu said that no one in the store had actually looked at his coupons.

"Employees did nothing to test the authenticity of my coupons," Liu said, "and they said they had received notice to terminate the offer. That constitutes a unilateral breach of contract."

The Dongcheng district courthouse has accepted Liu's case, and he has pledged to submit his coupons with proof of where he got them. If he wins, Liu said he hopes to receive his discounted chicken and his litigation costs covered.

KFC's chicken coupon crisis in China is similar to a furor that erupted in US outlets when an online promotion drew more customers than the company had anticipated in early 2009. The branches ran out of chicken and turned customers away.

In response to the resulting backlash, KFC issued "rain check" vouchers, promising free meals at a later date.