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McDonald's McRib lawsuit moves forward after federal judge's ruling
Fox Business • • business
Key Points:
- A federal judge ruled that McDonald's must face a proposed class action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading customers about the meat used in its McRib sandwich, allowing consumer deception, fraud, and unjust enrichment claims to proceed.
- The lawsuit alleges the McRib patty, designed to resemble pork ribs, contains no actual rib meat but instead lower-grade pork products such as pork shoulder, heart, tripe, and stomach, which McDonald's denies.
- Judge April Perry found it premature to dismiss the case, citing consumer surveys where a majority expected rib meat in the sandwich and considered it important to their purchase decision.
- McDonald's argued that the McRib's name and ingredient list are not misleading, but the judge noted that other McDonald's products have descriptive names and rejected the company's trademark defense.
- The ruling does not establish wrongdoing by McDonald's but allows parts of the lawsuit to move forward; the McRib, introduced in 1981, remains a popular limited-time menu item at thousands of McDonald's locations globally.
