What? Whoppers aren’t whopping? The path has been cleared for the courts to decide.
A Florida judge tossed Burger King’s bid to dismiss a class action suit claiming the signature Whopper burgers depicted on in-store signage and menu boards are much bigger than the ones that are served, according to Reuters. The lawsuit claims that the depictions show a meatier burger and ingredients that “overflow the bun,” making the Whopper appear to be 35% bigger than the ones that are served to customers, Forbes wrote.
U.S. District Judge Roy Altman in Miami ruled that the restaurant must defend against angry customer claims that the glossy portraits of whopping Whoppers have misled reasonable customers, which amounts to a breach of contract.
Burger King attorneys argued that reasonable people don’t expect every burger to look “exactly like an advertising photo.,” but the judge said it was up to jurors to “tell us what reasonable people think,” Forbes reported. His Friday ruling allowed customers to pursue not only breach of contract charges but also “unjust enrichment” — when one party benefits at the expense of another — and negligent misrepresentation,” Forbes wrote.
However, he dismissed claims against online and TV ads finding none where Burger King promised a particular burger “size” or patty weight and failed to deliver it, Reuters reported.
The suit is one of several similar legal challenges against fast-food companies for having the advertising promise more than the product delivered. In July Taco Bell was sued over allegedly small portion sizes. McDonald’s and Wendy’s are battling similar lawsuits as Burger King, Forbes said.
In 2016 Subway settled a case that claimed its foot-longs were not a foot long, but this year won a case in which a customer claimed their tuna wasn’t tuna, according to Forbes.
