McDonald's and Wendy's false burger advertising lawsuits tossed

McDonald's and Wendy's are off the hook in the case of a lawsuit that accused the fast food giants of misleading advertisement.

Filed in May 2022 by Justin Chimienti in the Eastern District of New York, the lawsuit accused the rival burger chains of "unfair and deceptive trade practices" for "falsely advertising" the size and look of items on their menus, especially their burgers.

Chimienti claimed that he was disappointed when he ordered a Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger and Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger from Wendy's and Big Mac and cheeseburger from McDonald's, saying they appeared much smaller and less appetizing in person compared to the images advertised on the menu board.

He claimed that the restaurants use undercooked burger patties in their marketing materials because they "make it appear that they are approximately 15-20% larger than the beef patties that are actually served to customers," as the fully cooked patties "tend to shrink and look less appetizing."

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McDonald's, Wendy's provide objective info, judge rules

According to the lawsuit, this discrepancy between the size of the burgers in ads and when served constitutes misleading advertising, as the quality of the food received is "much lower in value than what is being promised."

The complaint also took an additional jab at Wendy's, saying the company exaggerated the number of toppings included on its burgers.

McDonald's and Wendy's filed motions to dismiss last year, a request granted by US District Judge Hector Gonzalez late last week. The judge determined that the lawsuit "fails adequately to allege that a reasonable customer would likely be misled" by the adverts.

He likewise ruled that images of the food supplied to customers by the chains were "no different than other companies' use of visually appealing images to foster positive associations with their products" and pointed out that the information and disclaimers displayed on the companies' websites were "objective information about the weight and caloric content of those meals."

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Fast food lawsuits

This lawsuit is the latest in a string of litigation against chain restaurants over their food.

In July, another New York man sued Taco Bell for false advertising, claiming its Mexican Pizza had only about “half of the beef and bean filling that he expected.”

August saw a similar lawsuit accusing Burger King of falsely inflating the size of burgers in its ads, which a judge decided could move forward.

Last month, Starbucks failed in a bid to dismiss a complaint alleging their fruit refresher drinks were missing some of the fruit promised in ads.

And in March, a Chicago man sued Buffalo Wild Wings, saying the company’s “boneless wings” aren’t wings at all but actually cheaper chicken breast tenders.