Years ago, I was approached to do a TV series about my lawyer life. At the time I was so focused on matters that were headed to the Court of Appeal that I didn’t give it much thought. But I’d love to do something about fast food and restaurants because there are always interesting legal issues arising from the food world. Over the summer fast-food law ended up being a theme on my blog. Here we are in October and Weird and Wacky Wednesdays is once again the “Food Law Blog.”
I’m not loving it because I don’t know where the beef is
The Wendy’s “where’s the beef” campaign was short lived but changed our culture forever. It became a trite phrase. But of course, when you advertise one thing and deliver another, it’s a phrase that hits the mark. And so it was a particular concern for Wendy’s that a customer sued them for false advertising when the food he ordered didn’t look as delectable the food he was served.
Justin Chimienti sued both Wendy’s and McDonald’s claiming that the photos and images in their ads were significantly misleading when compared to the product that was ultimately delivered. In some respects this is a creative lawsuit. One can sympathize when you unwrap the package and see that the contents of your burger are not under the bun. On the other hand, do you really expect fast food to look as lovely as it does in the marketing material?
A federal court in New York ruled this week that there is no deception because it’s normal to use beautiful photos in advertising and we all understand that the food that they hand us won’t be identical to that in the ads. Although I understand that this is a big win for McDonald’s and Wendy’s, one can expect that this ruling will give license to fast-food restaurants to employ beautiful images and they may feel a lesser obligation to deliver similarly beautiful food.
All hope is not lost, however, because Burger King is still facing a suit complaining that their burger sizes are misleading. We’re glad to see the courts are regulating fast-food.
Negative Nuggets
As we have noted before, a burger can be a weapon. But burgers are not the only thing in a Burger King that can be used as a weapon.
Shorted on nuggets…
Last week a couple were arrested for assault using various weapons at a Florida Burger King. This started, like so many of these incidents, because the couple were shorted chicken nuggets at the drive thru. They apparently entered the restaurant, claiming they were given fewer nuggets than advertised, to complain. Soon, however, the were throwing cups and a glass cookie display at staff according to the reports.
The police attended and found an employee on the floor, food and damaged restaurant items strewn about and they pieced together what happened.
Both suspects were arrested and face charges of criminal damage and disorderly conduct.
Poppin’ Caps at Popeye’s
Fried chicken restaurants have their own particular problems. Just last week, police in Texas arrested a young male employee of a Popeye’s restaurant because he was shooting at customers. He had his reasons. He was selling drugs while on his shift and he got in a dispute with one of his drug customers.
He is now charged with unlawful carrying a weapon, deadly conduct, and tampering with evidence. And he lost his job.
