McDonald’s Class Action Challenges ‘100% Chicken Breast’ Sandwiches

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McDonald’s Corp. and McDonald’s USA LLC have been hit with a class action lawsuit challenging the fast food chain’s representations that some of its sandwiches, salads and wraps are made with “100% Chicken Breast.”

Plaintiffs King Ho Yip and Anna Hennigan, who are both residents of New York, filed the McDonald’s class action lawsuit Tuesday in New York federal court, challenging McDonald’s “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Sandwiches,” “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Wraps” and “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Salads.” These products are reportedly advertised by McDonald’s as a superior product to the McChicken sandwich.

Yip and Hennigan allege that McDonald’s deceptively represents these chicken products because the chicken actually includes rib meat in addition to chicken breast. According to the McDonald’s chicken breast class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs and putative Class Members paid a premium for the chicken meals at McDonalds based on the representation that they include 100% chicken breast.

The McDonald’s class action lawsuit points to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of “fillet” which reportedly refers to a product that “consists of a boneless slice or strip of poultry meat of the kind indicated.”

A reasonable consumer would not expect a product that purportedly contains “100% chicken breast fillet” would include rib meat, the McDonald’s class action lawsuit states. Yip and Hennigan allege that the inclusion of chicken rib meat in a product advertised as “100% chicken breast fillet” constitutes a violation of federal food labeling laws.

McDonald’s released several commercials that promote the allegedly 100% chicken breast fillet products as being of superior quality compared to its fast food McChicken sandwiches, the plaintiffs allege in the McDonald’s class action lawsuit.

Yip and Hennigan allege they purchased sandwiches from McDonald’s that were advertised as including “100% Chicken Breast Fillet,” and that they paid a premium of $3.60 over the price of the Classic McChicken Sandwich, which was allegedly priced at $1.99.

The McDonald’s chicken breast class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Yip, Hennigan, and a proposed Class of U.S. consumers who purchased a “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Sandwich,” “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Salad,” and/or a “100% Chicken Breast Fillet Wrap” from McDonalds.

Yip and Hennigan estimate that millions of U.S. consumers may be affected by McDonald’s alleged misrepresentations about the content of its chicken breast fillets.

The McDonald’s class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of New York’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, false advertising, violations of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Acts of various states and the District of Columbia, unjust enrichment, breach of express warranty, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act, negligent misrepresentation, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and breach of the implied warranty of fitness.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order McDonald’s to stop disseminating the false and misleading messages and to “correct the false and misleading perception that they have created in the minds of consumers.” They are also seeking damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and other relief deemed proper by the court.

Yip and Hennigan are represented by John Troy of Troy Law PLLC.

The McDonald’s Chicken Breast Class Action Lawsuit is King Ho Yip, et al. v. McDonald’s Corp. d/b/a McDonald’s, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-06464, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.