The 7 Most Bizarre Fast Food Industry Lawsuits
We've all heard the infamous story of the lady who sued McDonald's after getting burned by a cup of hot coffee, or the woman who found the chicken head in her McNuggets.
What does not get as much coverage is now many suits get filed in the other direction, as the fast food corporations prove they can think up far stupider reasons to sue than their customers can.
#7.
McLibel
In 1990, two UK versions of hippies were handing out pamphlets on the streets the way hippies (and various cults) tend to. The pamphlets made wild accusations about how McDonald's sells unhealthy food and creates pollution.
McDonald's was not amused and filed a libel suit, which is good for them because a sequel to the pamphlet detailing how McDonald's burgers are made from goat scrotum and how the Hamburglar made a series of gloryhole videos called "Robble Gobble" was already in the planning stages.
The Result:
The case went to trial and pretty much became the biggest, most embarrassing thing it possibly could have been for McDonald's. The two hippies, an out-of-work mailman and a gardener, represented themselves and proceeded to fuck McDonald's six ways from Sunday for seven straight years.
They called 180 witnesses to back up the claims they had made in the pamphlet, and cost McDonald's millions in legal bills. In the end, the defendants had managed to prove three-fifths of their claims, but were found guilty of libel on the rest. However, that managed to prove McDonald's guilty on a number of counts and also made them look like epic assholes.
An appeal by the defendants went on to fuck McDonald's further and make them look even more like a faceless corporation of death bent on killing children with Happy Meals, to the point where McDonald's basically folded and said they would not seek to collect on the money owed.
#6.
Carl's Anus
Burger chain Carl's Jr. sued rival Jack in the Box over an ad campaign that implied Carl's Jr. made their burgers out of the tender meat of the anus.
Carl's Jr. boasts that their burgers are made of "Angus" beef and Jack in the Box staked their entire campaign on the fact that "Angus" sort of sounds like "anus." Carl's Jr. sued on the grounds that people may be too retarded to know that Angus beef does not come from a cow's ass and they wanted to protect that loyal base of retarded customers from being led astray.
The Result:
In July 2007, a judge denied Carl's Jr. an injunction to stop the ads from running. A suit is still pending but obviously it's moot because if Carl's Jr. wins, Jack in the Box can't go back and erase the ads from the customers' memory.
By the way, Carl's Jr. provided survey evidence to show that 36 percent of people thought Angus meat came from cow ass, which begs the bigger question of why they sell Angus burgers at all if they acknowledge a third of people think that.
#5.
Coq Roq
In 2005, band of questionable talent Slipknot sent a cease and desist order to Burger King, asking them to quit advertising their chicken fries via commercials featuring a band that was actually called Coq Roq. Slipknot felt Coq Roq was violating their rights by punking off their incredibly original image that no band had thought of before, not even back in the '70s when KISS did it.
Rather than ignoring them, Burger King responded by filing suit against Slipknot, requesting that a judge declare that Coq Roq was not a rip off of Slipknot. In an actual, legal filing, Burger King reps, presumably with a straight face, detailed how the band Coq Roq is made up of six people in chicken masks named Fowl Mouth, Kabuki, The Talisman, Free Range, Sub-Sonic and Firebird. Also, so the court wouldn't be totally unaware of the finer legal issues, they included lyrics of a Coq Roq song:
Raw desire is the fire I feed
Chicken Fries are what I need
See you standing like BK treat
Long and lean and just out of reach
It's not known if at this point, having read the term "Coq Roq" about a hundred times, the judge decided to abandon law as a profession.
The Result:
After some meetings, Burger King quietly agreed to drop the campaign (it wasn't exactly going over well with customers anyway, since they were using cock innuendo to sell chicken fingers). Meanwhile the whole thing couldn't have done wonders for Slipknot's image, since it's kind of hard to look at them the same way once you realize they're a group of wealthy men with a team of lawyers in their employ.
#4.
There Can Be Only One Glazed Donut
In 2004, Krispy Kreme, riding high on a curious wave of people treating their donuts as if they were made of cocaine and titties, decided to sue donut maker Entenmann's for copyright infringement. It seems Entenmann's had the balls to call their donuts "original glazed" and sell them in white boxes with blue dots on them, which looks exactly like the green and white Krispy Kreme packaging, when viewed from a distance by a color blind and illiterate person who isn't able to read "Entenmann's" on the label.
The Result:
In early 2005, millions of Krispy Kreme customers looked up and said, "Wait a second! These are just fucking donuts! What were we all worked up about?" The company's stock price collapsed and shareholders filed a lawsuit of their own.
Suddenly the vaguely similar Entenmann's box was the least of their problems and they quietly dropped the suit.
Any job is good if you've never been employed before.
ReplyWith everybody except McDonalds needing experience, what the hell else would people think about that?
I worked at a mcdonalds for two and a half years. The definition is wrong. A mcjob is where you spend 12 hours a day in hell up to your elbows in overflowing urinals and obese swearing children. Even further on a bad day.
ReplyMcUnion? Not if you want your McJob!
ReplyAlso, does it make me a hippy if I agree with the two people from 7. Fast Food is food in the same way dirt is food. Eating it may not kill you right away, but it's gonna screw your body, and is about nutritionally the same. The only difference is McDonalds tastes better... but in all fairness, I never mixed dirt with fats and salt, and then ate it. So, who knows...
ReplyWhat never made sense to me is why, instead of funding a big McJobs are good campaign, they didn't just give their employees the money they wasted on it. It's like the idea of just doing the right thing doesn't even occur to them. Instead of solving the problem, bullshit the public. And don't say it can't be done. Store's like Costco prove it can be done when the CEO's actually give a shit. They're staff makes good money and they do business without needing bullshit ad campaigns.
ReplyoNcE YOU'VE READ THE.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesFIRST WORD OF.
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How can you possibly be such a stupid f**k
I guess KFC didn't sue "Kentucky Fried Movie" in the 70's because they didn't use a red and white bucket in the ads. I'm sure they would have found the movie offensive, especially the part where the dick was telling jokes (literally).
Replywas I the only one who typed carl jr anus into youtube looking for that ad?
ReplyDid you get fast-food themed porn? Because it's probably out there.
can someone point me to the article about the "stupidest" lawsuits ever filed, which will hopefully include the woman who tried to sue McDonald's because the coffee they gave her was "too hot." Remember this woman? She thought it was a good idea to keep a cup of coffee between her legs (while wearing shorts!) and when the lid popped off her drink she got burned by the hot coffee that spilled out.
Reply Hide All See All 6 RepliesCoffee given in a travel cup. That the lids were faulty on. That was so hot it was still registered as "boiling liquid" after it was left sitting for 30 minutes. Yeah, your COMPLETELY right. Ps, she won.
I have no sympathy, if it is as Syn has state then she should of know even better not to shove it between her legs while driving.
Still boiling, after 30 minutes? Just the one cup of coffee without it sitting on a stove or any other heating implement? I seriously doubt that the coffee would still register as boiling after 30 minutes, otherwise Maccas probably isn't using water. Boil a small pot of water, take it off the stove and put it on a neutral room temperature surface. And leave it for 30 minutes. Then return to it and measure the temperature. Feel free to use a thermometer but you'll probably be safe using your hand. And that difference will be felt in a small pot, let alone one mug worth.
Everythingwrong, her grandson was driving. And that car was parked. Yes, it was a 79 year old woman, or something like that. The coffee spilled through her dress and gave her third degree burns and had to be rushed to the hospital, where she got skingrafts and two years of treatment. It may not have been boiling, but it was served at 190 F. The recommended servingtemperature is 140. She tried to settle with them for the cost of treatment and lost income, 20.000 dollars. McDonalds offered her 800. That is when it went to lawsuit and she was given 650.000 dollars. She wasn't greedy. She was a granny who needed 15000 dollars worth of medical treatment because McDonalds served their coffee at a temperature that could cause third degree burns.
And she didn't get the 650k, most of it was taken away on appeal.
Seconding all replies below:3rd deg burns, ER treatment, etc. After all was said and done she was placed under a gag order so McDonald's can put out a publicity campaign that we all will just eat up because we want to prove to ourselves how effed up the legal system is "What a dumb old lady! Of course coffee is hot! Did that greedy old hag think we served cold coffee here?!" The 79 year old woman has no recourse to defend her reputation against such attacks because speaking about it is a violation of the court order. So go ahead and believe all that BS that corporate America shoves down your throat.
Slipnot = Psycho le Cemu + Hellraiser.
ReplyWhich is more fail? That Krispy Kreme tried to sue a much older company than them for "stealing their totally original ideas," or that they thought that the company that makes the worst tasting chocolate doughnuts in the world was even worth suing.
I have never brought a KK donut. I always prefered Dunkin'. Though if offered, I'd take one
Carls Junior should have argued that butt meats are the tastiest of all meats; the lions told them so.
ReplyKFC has yet to sue Japanese pop singer Gackt for "Yellow Fried Chicken."
#7, I'd sue the pants off those two hippie slanderers too. I hate their type. Eating organic vegan crap and with their "environmentalism" horseshit and anti-corporation agenda. McDonald's should be suing to collect.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesWhat's the point of one type of bullshitter suing another type of bullshitter? It's fake food made of corn oil & cardboard vs extra-abused animals & foods sprayed with deadly organic pesticides. The only thing they have in common is the heavy garnishment of lies.
What was I talking about again?
So they should be sued for telling the truth, bloody retard.
remember the Penn and Teller Bullshit episode where they pretty much proved organic food wasn't that much better than regular food. Hell, organic freaks thouht the regular food was the organic stuff
Why didn't McDonald's just have those two douche bag hippies killed? They've got hit men money - they totally could've covered it up. I would've had them killed if I was McDonalds'. Hippies are the scourge of the earth.
ReplyThey also should kill the 5 people who disliked cause obviously the love hippies and have no sense of real humor. Those are two thing I can't stand.
Hippies don't have enough meat on them to grind into Happy Meals. Wasn't worth the effort.
the last part of #2 made my day
ReplyI'm not gay, but I don't find Hooters waitresses to be all that attractive.
ReplyFor plenty of men a woman who throws herself at you isn't too much fun, makes it easy y'know?
I like tits but I also like the face so when an ugly chick with huge tits walk ups to me I walk away and mourn for the lost of the tits to that butterface.
Double post fail
ReplyI must have a really dirty mind cause the first thought that entered my head when I saw the McDonald's pic(the one with hamburgler) was..glory hole? The article was pretty funny....and I have a sick mind....
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesI agree. You have a really dirty sick mind.
nothin wrong with a dirty mind ;)
@kyelly77 Want to meet up somewhere? You sound like a cool chick
A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste
Further proof, as if it was needed, that Slipknot has always been a band of sellouts from the beginning.
Replyehh, it was pretty funny.
ReplyThe 'hot coffee'suing of McDonalds was just, she was SITTING in the passenger seat of her car, DRIVEN by her grandson,and PARKED when this incident happened. She opened the lid to stir in her cream and sugar and the coffee cup fell backwards... 3rd degree burns to her inner thighs and bottom. The family sought $20,000 in damages, a very reasonable amount when you look into the case, McDonalds offered $800. Seriously, watch the documentry called "Hot Coffee." Amazing how this case has been manipulated by corporations and corrupted the American Justice System in favour of comporations. (Ever heard of Tort Reform?)
Reply Hide All See All 8 RepliesWould it have happened in The Netherlands, McDonalds would have offered a free meal (small) and got away with it.
But since when do people need to be TOLD that coffee is hot?! It's a f*****g no-brainer.
i think what SUnny is implying was that she wasnt suing for not knowing it was hot but more for the injuries.
There is a different between the temperature coffee is normally served at, and the near boiling it was served at in this case. Had McDonald's followed there own regulations on serving temperature the incident would have been an irritating spill and not third degree burns to the genitals.
That is still bullshit - the whole coffee-story was wrongdoing by the judge and the jury. The case should have been thrown out in the first place. The more arguments you list, the more obvious it becomes that the spilling is CLEARLY her own fault. The coffee was also spilled over her sweatpants, causing the liquid to be absorbed by the pants and thus being close to the skin. Also - she sat in a pool of hot coffee. This is where the burns originate from.
Coffee is hot, everyone knows that. Make yourself a coffee at your coffee-maker at home, wear sweatpants and spill the coffee over yourself and sit in a pool of this coffee for 1,5 minutes. Then come back and tell me that you do not have burnings.
McD was right to serve hot coffee, because coffee is generally to be considered as being hot. On a sidenote: Starbucks serves much hotter coffee than McD. They also got a few lawsuits but they were all thrown out before they reached the courts.
Read this for even more information why the case should have been thrown out and the reform was silly, because things like this rarely happen:
http://overlawyered.com/2005/10/urban-legends-and-stella-liebeck-and-the-mcdonalds-coffee-case/
Well actually McDonald's coffee is served at 180°C, whereas normal coffees are at about 150°. Supposedly, it makes it taste better.
One of the outcome was that McDonald's put a "Caution hot" notice on their cups.
nobody's going to mention and be pissed that there was a documentary about it?!
Alex - I don't know about you, but when I brew my own coffee at home, and I spill it on myself, I don't need to go to the hospital for skin grafs. I scream a few obscenities and run it under cold water at the very worst.