After Vermont-based folk artist Bo Muller-Moore decided to apply for a federal trademark to protect his “Eat More Kale” T-shirt design, fast food chain Chick-fil-A reportedly accused him of infringing its “Eat Mor Chikin” trademark. The kale design has apparently caught on with consumers, who pay $25 each for the T-shirts and have purchased a sufficient quantity for Muller-Moore to support his family. With powerful allies such as Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (D), who reportedly said, “Don’t mess with Vermont. Don’t mess with kale. And Chick-fil-A, get out of the way because we are going to win this one,” Muller-Moore has vowed to defend the claim. Publicity about the fracas has apparently generated a rash of sales, which Chick-fil-A hopes to stop; the company has also apparently sought an order requiring Muller-Moore to turn over his website, eatmorekale.com. See NPR.org, December 6, 2011.
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A California resident has filed a putative class action against Brinker International, Inc., alleging that when she worked for one of its Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurants she was not paid minimum wage, because the company “fraudulently and maliciously caused Plaintiff and Class members to make up the restaurants’ cash shortages.” Eldred v. Brinker Int’l, Inc., No. 56-2011-00403808 (Cal. Super. Ct., Ventura Cty., filed September 15, 2011). According to the complaint, if a customer leaves the restaurant without paying or does not leave enough money to pay the entire tab, “it is defendant’s corporate policy to either inform the server that he or she has to pay for the walkout or that server will be written up and if it happens again that server may be terminated. Defendant uses the threat of termination to induce class members to pay for walkouts out of their own money.” Alleging failure to pay minimum…
According to news sources, a man who weighs nearly 300 pounds has filed an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit against White Castle in a federal court in New York, claiming that the stationary booth seating in a Nanuet restaurant is made for smaller people and that he hurt a knee trying to wedge into one in 2009. When he complained in writing, he purportedly received three “very condescending letters,” with offers for free hamburgers, although added cheese would have cost extra. He has since used take-out to purchase his food from White Castle or asked his wife to go into the facility to pick up his meals, while waiting almost three years for promised renovations that would have enlarged the seating spaces. Stockbroker and plaintiff Martin Kessman reportedly said, “I just want to sit down like a normal person.” See New York Post, September 11, 2011; The Wall Street Journal,…
A Jewish California resident who claims to be a vegetarian has filed a putative class action against Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., alleging that the company failed to adequately warn consumers that its pinto beans are prepared with or contain bacon or pork. Shenkman v. Chipotle Mex. Grill, Inc., No. BC467980 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed August 19, 2011). According to the complaint, the company does not disclose in its in-store menus that pinto beans contain pork, and, when specifically asked, employees informed the plaintiff that the pinto beans did not contain bacon or pork. Relying on these representations, the plaintiff purportedly purchased and ate the beans to his detriment, financial and otherwise. The plaintiff seeks to certify a class of California residents who “abstain from consuming bacon or pork” for “ethical, religious, moral, cultural philosophical, or health-related reasons” and purchased the pinto beans from any Chipotle restaurant in California…
A federal court in Illinois has reportedly dismissed on standing grounds the pro se claims of an individual plaintiff who alleged that the food packaging materials used by McDonald’s Corp., when discarded by consumers, pose a threat to the environment. Gencarelli v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 11-5573 (N.D. Ill., decided August 19, 2011). The plaintiff filed his complaint under the Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act and National Environmental Policy Act. According to the court, he lacked standing to sue because he alleged “a generalized grievance” only. To establish standing, the plaintiff was required to show a “concrete injury in fact, causation, and redressability,” which the court apparently found he failed to do. See BNA Daily Environment Report, August 24, 2011.
A recent study claims that the calorie counts which restaurants provide for their fare is “accurate overall,” although there is “substantial inaccuracy for some individual foods, with understated energy contents for those with lower energy contents.” Lorien E. Urban, et al., “Accuracy of Stated Energy Contents of Restaurant Foods,” Journal of the American Medical Association, July 20, 2011. Noting that restaurant foods “provide approximately 35% of the daily energy intake in US individuals,” researchers used a validated bomb calorimetry technique to test 269 food items, including 242 unique items, from 42 quick-serve and sit-down restaurants in Arkansas, Indiana and Massachusetts. Their findings apparently indicated that 19 percent of the 269 samples “contained measured energy contents of at least 100 kcal/portion more than the state energy contents,” an amount “that has been projected to cause 5 to 15 kg of weight gain per year if consumed daily.” The study also determined…
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) has vetoed legislation (House File 264/ Senate File 160) aimed at giving fast-food chains civil immunity if consumers gain weight after consuming their products. “Unfortunately, this bill provides to companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell food and nonalcoholic beverages civil immunity, except for: ‘any other material violation of federal or state law applicable to the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, advertising, labeling, or sale of food, if the violation is knowing and willful,’” Dayton said in his May 27, 2011, veto. “That requirement of being ‘knowing and willful’ creates too broad an exemption from liability, according to legal experts with whom I consulted.”
A federal judge in Florida has reportedly granted a motion for permanent injunction in a trademark infringement case involving two “never-ending” restaurant promotions. According to media sources, Darden Concepts Inc., which owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster, filed an October 2010 complaint alleging that a TGI Friday Inc. franchisee with outlets in seven states had infringed on its “never-ending pasta” and “all you can eat” shrimp slogans by advertising a “never-ending shrimp” deal. Under terms of the settlement, TGI Friday’s must halt its “never-ending” promotion, which evidently ran as 630 TV spots in anticipation of a national campaign. See Law360, June 6, 2011.
McDonald’s Corp. investors have reportedly rejected a shareholder proposal that asked the company to prepare a report assessing the role of fast food in “childhood obesity, diet-related diseases and other impacts on children’s health.” Led by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, which apparently owns $2,000 in company stock, the proposal coordinated with an open letter campaign launched by Corporate Accountability International (CAI) that asked McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to retire “marketing promotions for food high in salt, fat, sugar, and calories to children, whatever form they take—from Ronald McDonald to toy giveaways.” The letter apparently ran in several media outlets, including the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Metro and San Francisco Examiner, and garnered signatures from more than 550 health professionals and organizations. At the May 19, 2011, shareholder meeting, however, the company recommended a “no” vote on the proposal, and Skinner evidently defended the iconic clown as an…
A former employee of an Olathe, Kansas, waffle venue has brought a collective action against his employer alleging that it reported inaccurate tip earnings so that it would appear that his total earnings were compliant with the federal minimum wage. Spears v. Mid America Waffle House, Inc., No. 11-2273 (D. Kan., filed May 2010). Jared Spears, who was paid an hourly wage of $2.13 plus tips, contends that when he complained about the issue, he was given fewer hours to work and his wage “was further reduced by a mandatory meal credit that was deducted from his compensation whether he ate a meal or not.” He claims damages in excess of $75,000 and seeks injunctive and declaratory relief.
