Burger King is set to face a lawsuit from customers who claimed the fast food chain falsely advertised the Whopper as "35 percent" larger than it actually is.
As reported by Reuters, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman has rejected Burger King's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit. The chain must now defend itself against claims its own depictions of its signature hamburger aren't realistic enough. Customers in the proposed class action lawsuit said advertisements and in-store depictions show the burger features ingredients that "overflow the bun," giving the impression its bigger and contains more meat than it actually does.
"Burger King began to materially overstate the size of its burgers in its advertisements," the legal documents filed by plaintiffs in September 2017 read. "Side-by-side comparison of Burger King’s former Whopper advertisement to the current Whopper advertisement shows that the burger increased in size by approximately 35% and the amount of beef increased by more than 100%. Although the size of the Whopper and the beef patty increased materially in Burger King’s advertisements, the amount of beef or ingredients contained in the actual Whopper that customers receive did not increase.”
Burger King, a unit of Restaurant Brands International, said that it isn't required, as a company, to deliver burgers that look "exactly like the picture." Altman, however, said that jurors will decide on the case. "The plaintiffs' claims are false," said Burger King in a statement. "The flame-grilled beef patties portrayed in our advertising are the same patties used in the millions of Whopper sandwiches we serve to guests nationwide."
The judge's verdict on allowing the lawsuit to proceed comes not long after a New York man accused Taco Bell of engaging in "unfair and deceptive" practices. He argued that the Mexican Pizza menu item he ordered did not resemble how it was advertised. He was also displeased with other items, such as the Crunchwrap Supreme, Grande Crunchwrap, Vegan Crunchwrap, and Veggie Mexican Pizza items.
