Class Action

McDonald’s Class Action Defense Cases–In re McDonald’s French Fries: Illinois Federal Court Denies Class Action Treatment Of Consumer Fraud Class Action Complaint Because Individual Issues Predominate Over Common Issues

By Michael J. Hassen

Class Action Complaint Alleging Consumer Fraud/Deceptive Practices Based on Alleged Misrepresentation by McDonald’s as to Whether its Potato Products Contained Certain Allergens did not Warrant Class Action Treatment because Individual Issues Predominate Illinois Federal Court Holds

Plaintiffs filed a nationwide class action against McDonald’s alleging “violations of all of the fifty states’ and the District of Columbia’s consumer fraud and/or deceptive trade practices acts, breach of express warranty, and unjust enrichment”; the class action complaint asserted that plaintiffs suffer from “certain medical conditions” and were deceived by McDonald’s as to the ingredients contained in its french fries and hash browns. In re McDonald’s French Fries Litig., ___ F.Supp.2d ___ (N.D. Ill. May 6, 2009) [Slip Opn., at 1]. According to the allegations underlying the class action, McDonald’s would par-fry (or blanch) its potato products “in an oil made of 99% vegetable oil and 1% natural beef flavor”; the beef flavor, in turn, contained “hydrolyzed wheat bran and hydrolyzed casein (a dairy product).” Id. McDonald’s would advertise its potato products, however, as “gluten, wheat, and dairy-free,” thus making McDonald’s representations (according to the class action) “at best incorrect, if not intentionally misleading” – claims that McDonald’s denied. Id., at 2. (However, McDonald’s later corrected its disclosures about its potato products.) Plaintiffs disclaimed any physical injury from eating the potato products but alleged economic harm in that they would not have purchased products with allergens (i.e., gluten, wheat or dairy) but for McDonald’s misrepresentations. Id. The class action sought to recover the “actual economic harm” suffered by the putative class – “(i.e., the purchase price of the Potato Products) based on the difference in value between the gluten, wheat, dairy, and allergy-free products plaintiffs wanted and the non-conforming products they actually received.” Id., at 2-3. Plaintiffs’ moved the district court to certify the litigation as a nationwide class action; defense attorneys argued against class action treatment. Id., at 3-4. The district court determined that class action treatment was not warranted and therefore denied plaintiffs’ class action certification motion.

Plaintiffs proposed to define the nationwide class to include “All persons residing in the United States…(i) who purchased Potato Products from McDonald’s restaurants on or after February 27, 2002 through February 7, 2006 and (ii) who at the time of purchase had 3 been medically diagnosed with celiac disease, galactosemia, autism and/or wheat, gluten or dairy allergies.” McDonald’s, at 4. After summarizing the Rule 23 requirements governing class action motions and noting the “broad discretion” afforded district courts in deciding whether to grant such motions, see id., at 3-4, the court noted that plaintiffs sought certification of a Rule 23(b)(3) class, which requires (in addition to the four elements set forth in Rule 23(a) of numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation) that plaintiffs demonstrate “(1) common issues of law and fact predominate, and (2) a class action is superior to other forms of adjudication,” id., at 4 (citation omitted). But preliminarily, the district court observed that the proposed class is overly broad, as the definition includes people who never saw or heard anything from McDonald’s concerning whether the potato products were allergen free. Id., at 5. This was important given that none of the named plaintiffs suffered any physical reaction from eating McDonald’s potato products despite allergens, id., at 6. As the federal court concluded at pages 6 and 7, “It is fairly assumable…that many persons in the class as defined by plaintiffs have gone on eating defendant’s Potato Products since defendant corrected its disclosure. By any definition, these people have suffered no injury, not even the economic one claimed in this lawsuit.”

Full post as published by Class Action Defense Blog on May 11, 2009 (boomark / email).