A group of consumers has hauled McDonald’s into federal court, alleging the fast-food giant’s legendary McRib sandwich is more illusion than indulgence. The McDonald’s McRib sandwich lawsuit, filed as a proposed class action, claims the product’s name falsely suggests it contains real pork rib meat when it allegedly does not.
The complaint was filed Dec. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by plaintiff Peter Le and three other consumers, who argue the branding amounts to a calculated deception aimed at ordinary customers.
“Deliberate Sleight of Hand,” Plaintiffs Say
According to the lawsuit, the name “McRib” is a “deliberate sleight of hand” that leads reasonable consumers to believe the sandwich includes “at least some meaningful quantity of actual pork rib meat,” a cut that commands a higher market price.
Instead, the plaintiffs allege the rib-shaped patty is made from ground and reconstituted lower-grade pork components, rather than rib meat itself. By marketing the sandwich under that name, they argue, McDonald’s violates both state and federal consumer protection laws.
