A growing number of customers are suing restaurants, saying that they are misleading customers about the menu items they offer, and moving to court to find out the truth.
Burger King is the most recent target of this strike. A federal judge in Florida refused in August to dismiss a class-action lawsuit alleging that Burger King's advertisements exaggerate the quantity of meat in its Whopper burger and other sandwiches.
Burger King is barely the only one though. A law firm that keeps track of class action lawsuits, Perkins Coie, reported that 101 lawsuits were filed against food and beverage firms in the first half of this year, and 214 were brought against them in 2022. From 2010, when only 45 were filed, there has been a significant increase.
More recently, a Chicago resident sued Buffalo Wild Wings, alleging that the fast-food chain's claim that its boneless chicken wings are made from deboned wings is fraudulent. Another lawsuit claims that Taco Bell overstates the amount of "beef and/or ingredients" in its menu items and that this is "unfair and materially misleading."
Although the lawsuit against Burger King was brought in Miami, which is the home of the parent company's U.S. headquarters, one of the lawyers who brought it also has claims against McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Wendy's pending in New York. James Kelly, the lawyer in question, did not reply to a message requesting comment.
Some claim that the increase in these lawsuits is a result of rising consumer awareness. Jordan Hudgens, chief technology officer for Dashtrack, an Arizona-based business that creates restaurant websites, says social media can rapidly make a photo of a soggy sandwich go viral, alerting other potential claimants.
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