Reason Prevails For McDonald's And Wendy's In Burger Beef

On September 30, 2023, U.S. District Judge Hector Gonzalez dismissed a proposed class action accusing McDonald's Corporation (McDonald's) and Wendy's International, LLC (Wendy's) of exaggerating the size of their hamburgers in advertisements, ruling that reasonable customers wouldn't be misled by the companies' advertisements. The court also denied the plaintiff's request for leave to amend the complaint. Although the decision did not invoke arcane legal principles, there are still useful takeaways in this ruling, which touched on the fundamental requirements of a deceptive advertising claim.

To begin, in May 2022, the plaintiff sued defendants McDonald's and Wendy's in the Eastern District of New York alleging that the restaurants sold multiple menu items based on false and misleading advertising concerning the size of the beef patty and/or the number of ingredients or toppings of the menu items. The crux of the suit was that McDonald's and Wendy's allegedly