Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Update:
- A California federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging Subway deceived customers into buying sustainable tuna sandwiches that have no traces of sustainable tuna, although he declined to sanction the lead plaintiff’s counsel for misconduct during discovery.
- In an order filed Aug. 4, U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar granted plaintiff Nilima Amin’s voluntary motion to dismiss but denied Subway Restaurants Inc.’s request for six-figure sanctions against her counsel.
- Judge Tigar acknowledged Amin’s attorneys failed to meet discovery deadlines and provided improper and misstated legal documents; however he said Subway’s motion to sanction the attorneys sought punishment for meritless claims rather than misconduct.
- “Because Subway has failed to demonstrate that such pursuit constituted the knowing or reckless pursuit of a meritless claim, the court denies Subway’s motion,” the order states.
Subway tuna sandwich class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Subway slipped out of a class action lodged by California customers.
- Why: A judge dismissed claims Subway was falsely advertising the contents of its tuna sandwiches, but has allowed plaintiffs to file an amended complaint.
- Where: The lawsuit is pending in California federal court.
(Oct. 11, 2021)
Subway does not have to face claims it deceived customers into buying sustainable tuna sandwiches that have no traces of sustainable tuna — for now.
On Oct. 7, a California federal judge dismissed a Subway tuna lawsuit brought by plaintiffs Nilim Amin and Karen Dhanowa against the sandwich chain, saying the plaintiffs lawyers hadn’t adequately pleaded the allegations.
However, the judge — U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar — said the plaintiffs could refile the complaint if it was amended.
Noting that the Subway tuna lawsuit included references to irrelevant case material, Tigar pointed out that the Northern District of California was often referred to as ‘’the food court,’ and there is a lot of case law to cite in the circuit.
“When I see citations to an out-of-circuit case, I become suspicious,” he said, pointing to the fact the plaintiffs had cited 20-year-old false ad cases from other circuits.
Subway tuna lawsuit claims no fish DNA in sandwiches
The $5 million lawsuit, filed in Jan. 2021, originally alleged that Subway’s tuna sandwiches and wraps have absolutely no tuna in them, and accused the sandwich chain of fraud.
The Californians who filed the Subway class action lawsuit say “they were tricked into buying food items that wholly lacked the ingredient they reasonably thought they were purchasing.”
The lawsuit was filed after independent testing found that Subway’s tuna is a mixture of various concoctions that look similar to tuna, but in fact, is not tuna.
Later, the lawsuit was amended to allege that Subway had misled customers to believe they were buying Subway products containing sustainably farmed skipjack or yellowfin tuna, when they were not.
Despite the amended claim, Judge Tigar said the complaint in its current form failed to “identify the specific representation that Subway made” about the tuna. He dismissed the complaint with leave to amend
Subway’s Sandwiches Taken Apart in Legal Actions Challenging Its Authenticity
This is far from the first legal action challenging Subway’s sandwiches. Just last year Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled that Subway’s bread was not actually bread. Judges found that Subway’s “bread” contained too much sugar to be legally called bread, according to NPR.
Also in 2020, A Canadian judge authorized a class action lawsuit challenging Subway’s chicken sandwiches. This came after a 2017 CBC marketplace article that reported a DNA analysis revealed the chicken in Subway’s chicken sandwiches contained “50% of chicken DNA, the rest being made up of soy.”
The DNA analysis was reportedly performed by a researcher at a Trent University laboratory. Subway fired back with a defamation lawsuit against the CBC claiming its reporting was reckless and malicious. That part of the food fight ended with a judge ordering Subway to pay $500,000 in legal fees to CBC.
Have you tried Subway’s tuna sandwich? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below!
The plaintiffs are represented by Shalini Dogra of Dogra Law Group PC.
The Subway Tuna Class Action Lawsuit is Nilima Amin, et al., v. Subway Restaurants Inc., et al., Case No. 4:21-cv-00498-DMR, in the United States District Court Northern District of California.
Don’t Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
- McDelivery Customers Serve McDonald’s Class Action Lawsuit After Data Breach
- Chick-fil-A Delivery Customers Served With Secret Upcharges, Says Class Action
- Chipotle Reaches $8M Settlement With Management Trainees Alleging OT Violations
- Nestle Recalls 28,000 Pounds of DiGiorno Crispy Pan Crust Pepperoni Pizza Due to Misbranding and Undeclared Allergen
149 thoughts onJudge dismisses 100% tuna class action against Subway
I feel so deceived. PLEASE ADD ME
I ate a tuna subway sandwich for 2 weeks believing that I was eating healthy. I wasn’t. Who knows what I was eating.
add me
good morning my wife and i have been eating tuna subs at subway for years believing it was real tuna only to find out that it was not tuna, subway needs to be held accountable for be being deceitful,untruthful, dishonest,misleading and lying by saying that it was tuna when it was not, my family and i do not consume pork of any kind, please contact me so that i too can see what can be done about subway’s deception of not selling what they advertised as tuna but it was really swine.
I’ve been eating at subway for decades I usually eat the turkey but sometimes I ordered the tuna I got stomach cramps eating a tuna but I thought nothing of it but now I think about it what is in the tuna
Thought I was eating a real tuna sandwich just to find out I was digesting pork. Add me please
Add me
Very mislead
I’ve ate tuna at subway and now to find out that it has pork in it I’m furious how can they do this pork is abomination to me.
I managed subway and would refuse to eat what I prepared for others. Tuna sits on a shelf in a foiled pack until ready to use. Never looked like tuna subway crumbles the thick layer of solid meat and adds mayo only. Rotisserie Chicken is a solid chick of meat no bone or grissal at all and the skin ain’t skin although it’s brown like skin. How u get a cooked chicken with no bones or grissal idk but I never seen chicken look like that in over 50 years, never. So I don’t trust em. The store I worked at shopped at Walmart, too cheap to order subway goods which is required. Lettuce and veggies Walmart brand. Sue Zoe (meijuan) never complies with any subway rules…but always open to take your money
Add me , I do not do pork or no kind of meat in that area