“Happy Meals” Lawsuit Filed in California
Seeking to represent a class of California children younger than age 8 and
their parents, the mother of a 6-year-old girl has reportedly filed a putative
class action against McDonald’s Corp., alleging that it baits children by
advertising its “unhealthy Happy Meals” with toys and thus “has helped create,
and continues to exacerbate, a super-sized health crisis in California.” Parham
v. McDonald’s Corp., No. __ (Cal. Super. Ct., San Francisco Cty., filed
December 15, 2010). Counsel for the plaintiff includes Stephen Gardner with
the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which announced several
months ago that it would be filing such a lawsuit.
According to the complaint, “Most Happy Meals are too high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium to be healthful for very young children,” and the company “is engaged in a highly sophisticated scheme to use the bait of toys to exploit children’s developmental immaturity and subvert parental authority.” The plaintiff claims that her daughter “continually clamors to be taken to McDonald’s ‘for the toys.’” Alleging that the damages do not exceed $5 million, the plaintiff brings counts for deceptive and unfair marketing and business practices, as well as unfair and unlawful methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices. She seeks a declaration that McDonald’s advertising violates state law, an injunction to stop the company from “continuing to advertise Happy Meals to California children featuring toys,” costs, and attorney’s fees. See AOL.com, October 6, 2010; CSPI Press Release, December 15, 2010.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, responding to the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors ban on toys in children’s meals with too much fat, salt or sugar or too many calories, reportedly called those attempting to blame the nation’s obesity epidemic on Happy Meals “food police.” “We’ll continue to sell
Happy Meals,” he apparently said. The city’s regulation “really takes personal
choice away from families who are more than capable of making their own
decisions.” See NACSOnline.com, December 15, 2010.
