By Jia Cheng

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has agreed to an out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit brought by a customer who claims that KFC refused to accept his discount coupons.

Beijing Daily reported Tuesday that both sides are willing to settle the matter through mediation after a court in Beijing heard the case on Monday.

KFC customer Liu Cong sued the fast food giant in Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court, arguing that the restaurant chain had violated the terms of a sales promotion that offered discount food coupons on the Internet.

KFC argued that the coupon was downloaded after the sales promotion ended.

KFC organized a series of events to encourage customers to download and print out e-coupons labeled "Super Tuesday," offering half-price discounts on box meals and fried chicken steak packages.

The fast food chain said that they accepted coupons printed from www.kfcyouhui.com, or other websites licensed by KFC. The company later cancelled the promotion.

Liu, claiming that he was unaware of the cancellation, took his coupons to a KFC branch and was told the coupon was not valid on April 6.

According to Legal Daily, Liu's attorney argued that the coupon was actually a sales contract between the plaintiff and KFC. But the company cancelled the contractual relationship unilaterally, which violated Liu's legitimate rights.

In defense of the chicken restaurant, a representative of KFC questioned the validity and authenticity of Liu's coupon, saying it was downloaded after the "Super Tuesday" promotion was cancelled.

Liu insisted that his coupon was valid and carried the same details that KFC advertised.

KFC refuted the claim, saying its restaurant workers suspected that Liu knew the coupon was invalid, but tried to use it anyway.