A federal class action lawsuit filed in Florida alleges that Burger King advertisements exaggerate the size of the company’s meat patties in violation of state consumer protection laws around the nation.
The lawsuit filed March 28 in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of Florida resident Walter Coleman and several New York residents contends that ads depicting Whoppers and other entrees embellish the meat content of the actual burgers served by the fast-food company.
“Burger King advertises its burgers as large burgers compared to competitors and containing oversized meat patties and ingredients that overflow over the bun to make it appear the burgers are approximately 35% larger in size, and contain more than double the meat, than the actual burger,” the lawsuit states.
The size of the class seeking damages for the alleged misrepresentation is likely to be in the thousands, according to the complaint.
“Because of some of the press and the topic itself, we’re getting quite a bit of people reaching out to us that want to become members of the class,” Delray Beach attorney Anthony Russo told the Florida Record. “It’s the type of case that's going to end up having a lot of participants in the class just by the nature of it.”
Although the alleged individual harm done to plaintiffs may be relatively small, the issue of corporate accountability and transparency is a significant one, according to Russo.
“Consumers are smarter now and less tolerant of that type of behavior,” he said. “Today it’s a burger, tomorrow it could be a car, it could be your home, it could be almost anything."
Plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages resulting from allegedly deceptive advertising, an injunction ordering Burger King to correct the ads or discontinue the problem menu items and any other relief the court finds is warranted.
“Burger King’s actions are especially concerning now that inflation, food, and meat prices are very high and many consumers, especially lower-income consumers, are struggling financially,” the complaint says.
Burger King did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the litigation.