Lawsuits

The snack food and fast food industries have been rife with lawsuits. Some have been initiated by corporations against other corporations, particularly related to trademark infringement. Pepperidge Farm, makers of Goldfish, sued Nabisco for trademark infringement when the latter manufactured CatDog crackers, an orange-colored cheese snack, some of which were shaped like fish. Pepperidge Farms won. When Mars tried to launch a version of M&Ms peanuts that copied the coloring and styling of Hershey’s Reese’s Pieces, Hershey sued, claiming that Mars was trying to capitalize on Hershey’s goodwill and investment in Reese’s Pieces. Hershey’s won.
Individuals and groups have filed numerous lawsuits against junk food and fast food companies. The most well-known was 81-year-old Stella Liebeck’s suit against McDonald’s. She had bought a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-in window in Albuquerque in 1992 and, when she removed the lid, the coffee spilled onto her lap, causing third-degree burns. Her suit, filed in state court in Albuquerque, claimed the coffee was “defective” because it was so hot. The jury awarded her $2.9 million and McDonald’s decreased the temperature of its coffee.
In another famous case, reminiscent of the lawsuits against tobacco companies, in 2002 Samuel Hirsch sued McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King for contributing to obesity. He believed fast food chains violated New York state’s consumer fraud statutes by deliberately misleading consumers that their food was healthy and nutritious. The suit claimed that the fast food restaurants contributed to or caused obesity and subsequent health problems. A revised lawsuit alleged that McDonald’s engaged in deceptive advertising, in part because it failed to adequately disclose additives and processing methods in its Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken Sandwich, French fries, and hamburgers. More lawsuits are expected. To head them off, the industry engaged in a massive public relations campaign. In 2004, the National Restaurant Association led the effort to pass the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act (H.R. 339) in Congress to exempt fast food chains from lawsuits related to obesity. It passed in the House, but was not voted on in the Senate.
Yet another lawsuit was instituted against McDonald’s for falsely claiming that its French flies contained no animal fat. In fact, the frying oil contained beef tallow. The company paid out millions in damages to vegetarians and devout Hindus living in the United States.
Likewise, individuals have filed lawsuits against junk food companies. For instance, lawsuits have been initiated against Frito-Lay, Inc. for its inclusion of olestra (Olean) in some of its so-called light snack foods.
In an unusual case, a company filed suit against two individuals, Helen Steel and Dave Morris, who passed out leaflets in front of McDonald’s outlets in London. McDonald’s claimed that the leaflet had libeled them. Dubbed McLibel, the lawsuit ended up being the longest case in British history and was a tremendous public relations disaster for McDonald’s.
Some lawsuits have been fraudulent. On March 22, 2005, Anna Ayala of San Jose, California, reported finding a human finger in her bowl of chili served at Wendy’s. She hired a lawyer with the intention of suing Wendy’s, but in the days following she decided not to do so. Wendy’s hired private investigators, who found no evidence that the finger had any connection with the company. Wendy’s claimed that the incident decreased sales by an estimated $2.5 million at Wendy’s restaurants and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the finger’s original owner. On April 22, Ayala was arrested, and a month later San Jose police reported that the finger, which had been lost in an industrial accident, was that of an acquaintance of Ayala’s husband. In September, 2005, Ayala and her husband pled guilty to conspiring to file a false claim and attempted grand theft.