Burger King, McDonalds, Taco Bell and Wendy’s among fast-food chains hit by 375% rise in misleading advertising class action lawsuits as legal expert says they’ve crossed the line between ‘sheaf’ and “deception”.
- Many of America’s best-known brands are facing multimillion-dollar lawsuits for allegedly misleading their customers.
- It comes after Dr Pepper agreed to a $15million settlement for falsely claiming its synthetically flavored soda was “made with aged vanilla”.
Lawyers have warned fast food companies that angry consumers will feast on their profits unless they stop misleading the public about their products.
Burger King, Taco Bell and McDonald’s could face multimillion-dollar damages following a growing wave of lawsuits targeting some of America’s best-known brands.
It comes after beverage company A&W and Keurig Dr Pepper agreed to pay $15 million in July for cans labeled “made with aged vanilla” when the soda inside actually used synthetic flavoring.
And Buffalo Wild Wings is being sued in Chicago for its boneless chicken wings that aren’t made from boneless chicken wings.
“There is a legal line. When is it bragging and when is it deceit? said marketing professor Jeff Galak, of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.
Burger King countered that it was not obligated to deliver burgers that looked “exactly like the picture”. A restaurant in Daly City, California is pictured here
Plaintiffs in New York submitted photos of the vegetarian Mexican pizzas they were served (right) along with the advertisements that persuaded them to buy.
Buffalo Wild Wings insists its customers are not misled by the fact that its “boneless chicken wings” are not made from chicken wings.
“Companies are always trying to butt against that line.”
Class action lawsuits against food and drink companies rose from 45 in 2010 to 214 last year, mostly for misleading advertising or misleading consumers.
Last week, a Miami judge gave the plaintiffs the green light to sue Burger King for $5 million because it claimed its Whopper burgers were 35% bigger in ads than they actually are.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman said the company had to defend its suit and it was up to the jurors to “tell us what reasonable people think.”
But he warned plaintiffs that TV or online advertisements do not constitute a “binding offer” if they do not mention price or product information.
A Burger King spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “The complainants’ claims are false. The flame-grilled beef patties featured in our advertising are the same ones used in the millions of Whopper sandwiches we serve to guests nationwide.
McDonald’s and Wendy’s are defending against a similar lawsuit in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
And Taco Bell, a unit of Yum Brands, was sued in Brooklyn court last month for selling Crunchwraps and Mexican pizzas that allegedly contain only half the advertised topping.
The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million for Taco Bell customers who purchased the items in New York State in the past three years.
Ben Michael, a criminal defense attorney in Austin, Texas, said the recent wave of inflation may have prompted companies to cut corners by reducing portion sizes.
“Unfortunately, many companies are making these changes without consulting their marketing department or updating their menus to reflect the new portion sizes and ingredients,” he said. CBS.
“It leaves them exposed to the kind of lawsuits that we are increasingly seeing.”
But some companies have fought back against lawsuits, including Dunkin’, which successfully fought a 2020 case accusing the company of deception over its claims that its wraps contained Angus steak, rather than ground meat.
Buffalo Wild Wings is being sued for its boneless chicken wings, and Taco Bell is being sued for its Mexican Pizza, Vegetarian Mexican Pizza, Supreme Crunchwrap, Big Crunchwrap, and Vegan Crunchwrap.
Beverage company A&W and Keurig Dr Pepper agreed to pay $15 million in July for cans labeled “made with aged vanilla” when the soda inside actually used synthetic flavoring.
Wendy’s is sued over its Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger and McDonalds is sued over its Big Mac
Buffalo Wild Wings passed a note of defiance about the lawsuit
And Buffalo Wild Wings ridiculed his accusers by asking him to say what’s in his products.
“It’s true,” they tweeted.
“Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken. Our burgers do not contain ham.
“Our buffalo wings are made from 0% buffalo. »
