10 Crazy Fast Food Lawsuits

KFC took an L when a lawsuit was filed in California after a teenager found chicken organs in his meal.

Now, it boggles the mind as to how — or why — people think they’re going to get a McSea Bass quality type of a meal when they go to a place where you get your food through a Plexi-Glass window, but for whatever reason, people still love their fast food…even when it comes at a price.

Let’s take a look at some lawsuits filed against fast food chains that will forever go down in legal history.

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Photo: Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com

10. Arby’s Mystery Meat

David Scheiding was minding his own business and eating an Arby’s chicken sandwich when he discovered an inch-long piece of human flesh in his insta-wich. It turned out that the manager had sliced his finger while shredding some lettuce…and didn’t discard the bin that contained the extra meat. Yummy. For his trouble, Scheiding was awarded $50,0000.

9. Jimmy John’s Lawsuit about White People Sh*t

White People are just…different. And as the Jimmy John’s lawsuit early last year proved, White People like to sue over the dumbest things. When Heather Starks (of course it was a Heather) of Los Angeles (of course it was in LA) ordered a Jimmy John’s sandwich, she was expecting alfalfa sprouts…and didn’t get them. Normal people would go back to the store and ask for the missing sprouts…but not Heather Starks! Rather, she filed a class action lawsuit against the chain under the California Fraud Protection Act, claiming that the restaurant defrauded her by not putting in the sprouts as advertised. The company settled out of court…by issuing vouchers for free chips & soda, & donating $100,000 to charity.

8. Hooters Sues Kerf’s Over The Right to Show Their Hooters

Hooters is a restaurant & bar of questionable quality that has (correctly) ascertained that an order of Buffalo chicken wings tastes better when served with a side of breasts. (BAZINGA!) Kerf’s Winghouse, a small chicken wing restaurant in Tennessee, also correctly ascertained that the wings taste better with a side of breasts (I will reuse this joke however many times I need to). Hooters sued for $4 million, claiming that “chicks in tight shirts” is a “trade secret” that Kerf’s stole. The judge found in favor of Kerf’s, claiming that the wife-beater shirt that demonstrates the breasts cannot fall under the purview of “trade secrets.” Down with the patriarchy!

87. Cop Finds An Extra Ingredient in His Big Mac

NYPD officer John Florio stopped by his local McDonald’s in 2005 for a Big Mac (must resist urge to crack “fat cop” jokes…MUST RESIST!)…and was instantly treated to a broken tooth and cuts all up and down his throat. The reason? Shards of broken glass, put there by 18-year-old employee Albert Florio (who also spit in the cop’s food). Florio was later arrested, & charged with felony assault on a police officer. For his part, Officer Florio sued McDonald’s for $5.5 million, and the case was quietly settled.

6. Fat Guy Sues White Castle For Being Fat-Discriminatory

It stands to reason that if you eat enough White Castle burgers, and nothing else, you’re going to get fat. It also stands to reason that if you’re morbidly obese, especially through fault of constant consumption of fast-food hamburgers with meat of questionable origin, you’re going to need more room than most to sit in the restaurant while clogging your arteries. Martin Kessman of Rockland County agreed with this assessment, and sued White Castle under the American with Disabilities Act. The nearly-300 pound Kessman subsequently dropped the suit when White Castle buckled & made seats that accommodated folks similarly “disabled.”

5. A Truly Frightening KFC Lawsuit

In 2012, a 7-year-old girl in Sydney, Australia, ordered a KFC chicken wrap…and received a strain of salmonella so severe that she suffered brain damage. The little girl was also in a coma for months. An Australian judge ordered the chicken chain to pay $8 million Australian (about $9 million American) to the family for the trouble. KFC denied all wrongdoing in the matter.

4. Mo’Mickey D’s, Mo’Problems

Speaking of McDonald’s and broken glass, in 2011, Vjollca Lecaj (also a member of the NYPD) allegedlt got treated to a bunch of broken glass in her McDonald’s sandwich…this time, in her Spicy McChicken sandwich. But unlike the Florio case — which was proved to be malicious and deliberate — Lecaj’s case seems to be more of a matter of freak accident (courtesy of an exploding coffee pot). Lecaj sought $50,000 in damages.

3. E. Coli in the Box

Jack in the Box has been a West Coast fast food mainstay for decades…so it was quite surprising when, in 1993, the chain was hit with a class action lawsuit. What was the cause? Well, in 1993, there was a widespread E. coli outbreak — tainted burgers were sent all over the Pacific Northwest, and almost 600 people fell ill (with four children dying) as an end result. Recognizing bad publicity, Jack in the Box quickly settled (in one case, a 9-year-old girl who suffered permanent kidney damage got $15 million from the company).

2. Fast Food Makes You Fat, Fat People Sue Everybody

Again, the question begs itself: what is up with people who think that they’ll somehow get a nutritious meal from a fast-food chain? Someone forgot to tell Cesar Barber of New York City that you can’t sue a company for making you fat when you continue to eat their food…even after the food gives you a heart attack. Cesar led the charge of filing a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s, Burger King, & Wendy’s in 2003…but the lawsuit was dismissed.

1. Where’s the Beef, Taco Bell?

Back to Los Angeles we go for this lawsuit! Amanda Obney sued Taco Bell under the same California Fraud Protection Act, claiming that Taco Bell was falsely advertising “real beef” in their cheap-as-sh*t burritos. To Obney’s credit, she didn’t want money — she just wanted Taco Bell to tell the truth about their “real beef” not being all beef (which begs the question as to what it really is…). Taco Bell spent $4 million the following year to clarify their stance, and now, their burritos are simply “beefy.”

Bernadette Giacomazzo is a vegetarian & hasn’t eaten fast food in 20 years. Talk to her on Twitter at @berngiacomazzo or on Instagram at @kbprfirm.