Obesity suit may dog McDonald's
Court reinstates part of suit accusing the company of tricking kids into
eating fattening foods.
January 25, 2005: 7:07 PM EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court Tuesday revived part of the
widely-watched obesity suit against McDonald's Corp. that accuses the
world's biggest fast-food company of using misleading advertising to lure
children into eating fattening, unhealthy foods.
The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a trial judge
wrongfully threw out certain portions of the complaint in September 2003 on
grounds that it lacked information linking the plaintiffs injuries with
eating McDonald's foods. The panel did, however, uphold other parts of the
dismissal.
The appeals court said the proof about injuries could be provided during
pre-trial proceedings and did not need to be included in the initial
filing. It said it was sending the case back to the trial judge for further
proceedings.
The ruling comes on the same day that "Super Size Me," a documentary about
a man's month-long diet of McDonald's fast food, was nominated for an
Oscar.
McDonald's said they expected the obesity suit will be thrown out again.
"As we have consistently said, common sense tells you this particular case
makes no sense. Today's ruling, which is strictly procedural, simply delays
the inevitable conclusion that this case is without merit," McDonald's
said.
"We are confident this frivolous suit will once again be dismissed,"
McDonald's said.
The 2003 ruling marked the second time U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet
dismissed the case brought on behalf of two youngsters who blamed their
obesity, diabetes and other health problems on Big Macs and Chicken
McNuggets.
Sweet said the plaintiffs had not followed detailed instructions he gave
when he first threw out the case and told the plaintiffs they could submit
a new filing with information backing up their advertising allegations.
He said the complaint did not answer such questions as "What else did the
plaintiffs eat? How much did they exercise? Is there a family history of
the diseases which are alleged to have been caused by McDonald's products."
The judge said that without this information McDonald's did not have
sufficient information to determine if their foods caused the plaintiffs
obesity or if instead the products were only a contributing factor.
The suit had raised fears in the food industry of a new wave of
tobacco-like litigation against restaurants and manufacturers. Indeed, when
the judge threw out the first case, he left the door open to further
litigation. In that ruling he referred to Chicken McNuggets as a
"McFrankenstein creation" made of elements not used in home cooking.