A federal lawsuit has been filed by a south Florida lawyer seeking call-action status alleging that Burger King misled customers by portraying its food as being much larger than what is really served to customers.
Attorney Anthony Russo brought the suit that alleges Burger King began inflating the size of its burgers in images around September 2017. Prior to that, the suit claims that Burger King “more fairly” advertised its food products.
As of today, the size of almost every food item advertised by Burger King is “materially overstated,” the lawsuit stated. Russia and the plaintiffs he is representing point out advertisements for Burger King’s trademark Whommper, stating that the entire burger is 35 percent larger than the real-life version, with double the meat than what is actually served to customers.
These claims have not been the first time Burger King has been accused of inflating food in its ads. 12 years ago the United Kingdom’s advertising authority cited the company for burgers that had height and thickness “considerably less” than what was advertised,
The suit seeks class-action status and demands monetary damages and a court order that requires Burger King to end what it says are its deceptive practices.
Burger King’s parent company Restaurant Brands International, and representatives for Burger King have not immediately made any comments regarding the lawsuits.
The editor in chief of Restaurant Business magazine Jonathan Maze said that lawsuits against fast-food companies like Russo’s may seem to lack merit, and they cant sometimes scare company executives into paying settlements “when they fear bad publicity.”
A California judge approved a $6.5 million settlement in 2020 in a class-action lawsuit filed against Chipotle over what was claimed to be a misleading non-GMO advertising campaign.
“Big or small, justice is justice, and laws are laws,” Russo said. “And just because something happens to appear in someone’s opinion to be minor doesn’t mean that it is.”
