US judge says lawsuit over Buffalo Wild Wings boneless wings' lacks meat

"A customer who sued the US restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings after finding out their boneless wings were not in fact made of wings has been told by a US judge that his claim has has no meat on its bones. Buffalo Wild Wings can continue using the term boneless wings on its menu even though the product is essentially chicken nuggets, John Tharp, a district judge, ruled, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the chain was misleading customers."

"The decision, issued on Tuesday, was in response to a 2023 lawsuit filed in Illinois against Buffalo Wild Wings by customer Aimen Halim, who argued that the restaurant chain was violating the Illinois consumer fraud act and was misleading customers by marketing chicken breast pieces as boneless wings. He sought roughly $10m in damages. Halim does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are deceived by boneless wings, so he has failed to state a plausible claim for relief, the judge wrote."

"Tharp noted that boneless wings are not a niche product for which a consumer would need to do extensive research to figure out the truth but said that instead, boneless wings' was a common term that had existed for over two decades. Tharp described boneless wings as essentially chicken nuggets: pieces of chicken breast meat, deep-fried and tossed in whatever sauce or dry seasoning the customer wants."

A customer sued Buffalo Wild Wings after discovering that its boneless wings were made from chicken breast rather than wing meat and sought roughly $10m in damages under the Illinois consumer fraud act. A US district judge dismissed the lawsuit, finding the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are deceived by the term 'boneless wings.' The judge noted that 'boneless wings' is a common, widely used term for over two decades and is not a niche label requiring extensive consumer research. The ruling described boneless wings as essentially chicken nuggets: pieces of chicken breast, deep-fried and tossed in sauce or seasoning.

Read at www.theguardian.com