A proposed consumer class action over McDonald’s McRib will proceed on whether buyers could reasonably expect rib meat, after a Chicago judge dismissed some claims but allowed the core dispute to advance, Reuters reported.
U.S. District Judge April Perry ruled Oct. 30 that it was too soon to accept McDonald’s position that a reasonable customer would not expect rib meat. She cited the company’s website, which describes the sandwich only as containing pork, and said buyers need not investigate further before paying $7 for a sandwich, Reuters reported.
The plaintiffs allege that McDonald’s pressed ridges into the pork patty to evoke ribs and backed up that impression in its advertisements. They say the sandwich uses lower-grade pork, such as shoulder, heart, tripe or stomach, and caused customers to overpay for one of the chain’s most expensive menu choices. Pork ribs are a costly cut, Reuters reported, part of the context for the dispute.
Perry said the plaintiffs can rely on the ads as evidence of intent, but they must provide more support for that allegation. She wrote that the buyers’ reading of the McRib name was “not unreasonable or fanciful.”
In court, McDonald’s argued that its product name would not mislead reasonable buyers; a customer’s preference for another pork cut, it said, does not make its marketing fraudulent. The company denied using hearts, tripe or stomach and said it had clearly disclosed the sandwich’s ingredients. It called the lawsuit “meritless” and said it “distorts the facts.”
Attorney Thiago Coelho said plaintiffs would keep pursuing their allegation that the McRib was marketed deceptively.
The McRib has appeared on McDonald’s menus off and on since 1981. Reuters also cited separate cases involving McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, where plaintiffs allege the chains’ ads or menu photos overstated burger size.
