We have all heard the story about the woman who sued McDonalds because her coffee was hot, and we’ve all heard how it was apparently ridiculous. But, as we have discussed before, the story we all think we know is the result of clever PR on the side of the fast food companies and the actual story is much less crazy and much more understandable.

However, there have been some crazy lawsuits filed against fast food and junk companies and in this short guide we’ll look at some of the worst ones.

Loopy Froot Loop Customers

If we told you there was no fruit in Froot Loops, you probably wouldn’t be surprised and may even emit a, “Well, duh”. But apparently there are people who would be surprised as there has been a trend for people filing lawsuits against Kellogg (make of Froot Loops) for being misleading.

Their argument essentially amounts to, “We thought those brightly colored, super-sweet rings were real, healthy fruits, but instead you’ve been feeding us sugar and lies!”

Lawsuits, in many ways, are like social media. They give everyone the chance to have their say, even though there are people who should be locked away in a box, buried at the bottom of the ocean, and sworn to silence for all eternity lest they annoy the marine life.

Napkins = Anguish

A Californian man once sued McDonalds for only giving him one napkin when he requested “napkins”. This plural/singular argument was enough to cause a heated debate in the restaurant, followed promptly by the man suing for over $1.5 million for what he described as “undue mental anguish”.

He clearly has very strong feelings about napkins.

Krispy Kreme is Not Healthy

 

After apparently taking inspiration from the Froot Loop lawsuits, one customer tried to sue Krispy Kreme upon discovering that their “Blueberry Doughnuts” didn’t contain blueberries and were actually made of sugar.

Shock-Horror!

What was extra “special” about this lawsuit is the claim itself, as the man argued that Krispy Kreme had been depriving him of essential nutrients. In other words, he thought he was getting his essential nutrients from the doughnuts and so didn’t consume actual non-doughnut related foods.

Presumably he’s someone who thought that “5-a-day” meant KFC, Burger King, Krispy Creme, McDonalds and Arby’s.

There is Ice in Iced Tea?

Who knew there was ice in iced tea? Apparently not everyone. There was a Californian suit against Starbucks that argued that their drinks were misleading because they contained ice. The argument basically went that if you order a 12 ounce drink of iced tea you’re not getting 12 ounces because the ice accounts for as much as a quarter of the drink.

It made sense to them, so they thought it would make sense to everyone else, but the court threw it out with a note that sounded like a teacher talking down to a very slow child, “If children have figured out that including ice in a cold beverage decreases the amount of liquid they will receive, the court has no difficulty concluding that a reasonable consumer would [think the same]”.

Don’t get us wrong, there are a lot of valid claims against fast food companies, including many a products liability claim, discrimination claims, and more. But for every 1 of those, there seem to be several of the ones we have covered in this list.

Date Modified - 02/19/2024