Judge makes ruling in suit accusing McDonald’s, Wendy’s of deceptive burger advertising
UPDATE: On Sept. 30, a federal judge in New York dismissed Justin Chimienti’s lawsuit filed against McDonald’s and Wendy’s. In his lawsuit, he had accused the companies of “overstating the thickness” and size of their burgers through “false and misleading advertising.” The court ruled the chains’ advertising did not violate the business law.
The original story is below.
The way McDonald’s and Wendy’s advertise their burgers is the subject of a federal class-action lawsuit filed against both fast-food companies.
If you’re a customer who buys their beef patties, you’re getting deceived, according to the 35-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
McDonald’s and Wendy’s are accused of unfairly “overstating the thickness” and size of their burgers through “false and misleading advertising” in an effort to deceive customers into ordering them, the lawsuit states.
Specifically, their burger advertisements, including photos and filmed commercials, make their patties to appear much larger than what customers actually receive, the complaint filed on behalf of a New York customer says. As a result, people are making “purchases that they would not have otherwise made” and the companies’ alleged actions are “financially damaging consumers.”
McClatchy News contacted McDonald’s and Wendy’s for comment on May 19.
One of the lawyers who represents the customer who filed the lawsuit, Anthony J. Russo Jr., told McClatchy News over the phone that “being very truthful in what you’re advertising, not being misleading is important.”
“Our personal opinions is that we take these battles on because we have access to justice and that’s our system … we use the system the best we can to make sure we keep everybody honest and truthful in everything they do,” Russo said.
The lawsuit alleges that “Wendy’s advertises its burgers as large burgers compared to competitors and containing thick and juicy beef patties stuffed with toppings to make it appear that the burgers are substantially larger in size than the actual burger served to customers.”
Nearly every Wendy’s item, such as its Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger, was included as an example. The lawsuit included screenshots of tweets by Wendy’s customers containing photos of purchased burgers such as this one, which shows fewer toppings that what appeared in the advertisement:
“McDonald’s also materially overstates the size of its beef patties,” including its Big Mac, Quarter Pounder and plain hamburger, “using the same deceptive practice as Wendy’s,” the lawsuit says.
It claims that food stylist Ellie Stern, who has worked for both McDonald’s and Wendy’s, “has admitted that she tricks and deceives customers by using undercooked patties in burger advertisements.”
The lawsuit cites an article mentioning Stern titled “How They Make Fast Food Look So Good,” published by MoneyTalksNews. In it, Stern says she “prefers to use burgers that are undercooked in photos. That ensures a big, plump patty, whereas fully cooked burgers tend to shrink and look less appetizing.”
Because of this, the lawsuit accuses Wendy’s and McDonald’s of “unfairly competing with burger restaurants that more fairly advertise the size of their burgers and menu items,” ˜which the plaintiff asserts unfairly diverts millions of dollars “that would have gone to competitors.”
The New York customer who is the plaintiff, Justin Chimienti, is seeking “compensatory damages” since McDonald’s and Wendy’s allegedly violated consumer protection laws, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint comes after a federal lawsuit was filed by Russo against Burger King that similarly accuses the company of falsely advertising its burger sizes, NBC News reported.
Russo confirmed to McClatchy News that this prior lawsuit is ongoing and there are “very similar allegations and facts in it” compared to the lawsuit against McDonald’s and Wendy’s.
This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Judge makes ruling in suit accusing McDonald’s, Wendy’s of deceptive burger advertising."
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