Buffalo Wild Wings boneless wing lawsuit dismissed…
Buffalo Wild Wings can keep calling its menu merchandise “boneless wings” as such, a federal choose ruled Tuesday, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the title amounted to false promoting.
US District Judge John Tharp in Illinois issued a 10-page ruling permitting the sports activities bar chain to continue calling its menu merchandise “boneless wings,” after a Chicago man filed a lawsuit accusing the restaurant of false promoting, saying the boneless wings have been overpriced because they’re primarily chicken nuggets.
While Aimen Halim argued in the lawsuit that Buffalo Wild Wings ought to call the product one thing different, like “chicken poppers,” Tharp said the argument had no meat on its bones.
“Halim did not ‘drum’ up enough factual allegations to state a claim,” Tharp wrote. “Though he has standing to bring the claim because he plausibly alleged economic injury, he does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are fooled by BWW’s use of the term ‘boneless wings.’”
Halim sued Buffalo Wild Wings shortly after he visited the restaurant in January 2023, claiming he was deceived by the chain’s advertising and marketing.
Buffalo Wild Wings can keep calling its menu merchandise “boneless wings” as such, a federal choose ruled Tuesday, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the title amounted to false promoting. JHVEPhoto – stock.adobe.com
Aimen Halim argued in the lawsuit that Buffalo Wild Wings ought to call the product one thing different, like “chicken poppers.” Facebook/Buffalo Wild Wings
Halim alleged that the boneless wings are just “slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings,” and that prospects would either pay less for the boneless wings or not buy them at all if they knew what was in the product.
Halim said he later regretted shopping for the merchandise after studying how it was made, which he claimed induced him to undergo “a financial injury as a result of defendants’ false and deceptive conduct.”
In his ruling, Tharp said that while boneless wings are “essentially chicken nuggets,” the product idea was not new, noting that Buffalo Wild Wings had offered them since 2003.
“Boneless wings are not a niche product for which a consumer would need to do extensive research to figure out the truth,” he wrote. “Instead, ‘boneless wings’ is a common term that has existed for over two decades.”
Buffalo Wild Wings assertion after the lawsuit was filed. Buffalo Wild Wings
In his ruling, Tharp said that while boneless wings are “essentially chicken nuggets,” the product idea was not new, noting that Buffalo Wild Wings had offered them since 2003. Twitter
Tharp added that a “reasonable consumer” wouldn’t suppose that the food chain’s boneless wings have been “truly deboned chicken wings, reconstituted into some sort of Franken-wing.” Facebook/Buffalo Wild Wings
Halim accused Buffalo Wild Wings of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, breach of specific guarantee, common law fraud and unjust enrichment.
Tharp also cited an Ohio Supreme Court ruling from 2024, where the court ruled that “[a] diner reading ‘boneless wings’ on a menu would no more believe that the restaurant was warranting the absence of bones in the items than believe that the items were made from chicken wings, just as a person eating ‘chicken fingers’ would know that he had not been served fingers.”
Tharp added that a “reasonable consumer” wouldn’t suppose that the food chain’s boneless wings have been “truly deboned chicken wings, reconstituted into some sort of Franken-wing.”
The court is permitting Halim to submit an amended grievance by March 20, although Tharp famous that it “is difficult to imagine” that he can present extra details that would show that Buffalo Wild Wings “is committing a deceptive act.”
FOX Business’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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