McDonald's forced to pay $700,000 to Muslims because their chicken sandwich is not prepared according to Islamic law. (money, state)

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by weltschmerz

You see places advertising "world famous" or world's best" everywhere. That being said, I wouldn't order a hot dog because it was "world famous". I WOULD order it if it claimed to be 90 calories, and if it in fact has 458 calories, it's grounds for a lawsuit.

Claims of being world famous or the world's best are subjective at best and I doubt that they would be covered any false advertising claim. But claiming that your products meets quantifiable specifications is another ballgame.

[no1brownsfan]

OK... I get it. They advertised it, so it's on them. Fair enough.

[newtoli]

Originally Posted by pghquest

Civil penalties, up to $2,500 for each violation, are allowed when a lawsuit is brought by an authorized government agency. However, the UCL does not permit punitive damages awards

I'm pretty sure $700,000 is far greater than $2,500, and the individual isnt the government.

Each State also has their own laws.

I'm not sure if he filed under false advertising or not, but there are protections in place for false advertising.

[Cnote11]

Originally Posted by pghquest

The FTC isnt involved, this is a civil lawsuit

Isn't the civil lawsuit made possible BY the FTC act? Does it indeed have to be brought by an authorized government agency in such case? What was your reasoning for quoting FTC in the first place if it meant absolutely nothing?

Under the FTC Act

· Civil penalties, consumer redress and other monetary remedies. Civil penalties range from thousands of dollars to millions of dollars, depending on the nature of the violation. Sometimes advertisers have been ordered to give full or partial refunds to all consumers who bought the product.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

They had me at external ears:

In Arabic, the word halal means permitted or lawful. Halal foods are foods that are allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines. According to these guidelines gathered from the Qu'ran, Muslim followers cannot consume the following:

pork or pork by products
animals that were dead prior to slaughtering
animals not slaughtered properly or not slaughtered in the name of Allah
blood and blood by products
alcohol
carnivorous animals
birds of prey
land animals without external ears

most humane method is bleeding out by having your throat slashed? Give me a bolt gun any day over a slow death.

Muslims are taught through the Qu'ran that all animals should be treated with respect and well cared for. The goal is to slaughter the animal, limiting the amount of pain the animal will endure.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/midd...halalfoods.htm

[Randomstudent]

Originally Posted by pghquest

So when the local hotdog show advertises, "World famous hotdogs", they are breaking the law?

What law would that be?

There are exceptions for misrepresentation when things are obvious puffery. I would suspect that was not the case here.

[Cnote11]

Originally Posted by Randomstudent

It is good to see at least somewhere a corporation is being brought to task for lying to consumers.

It was just a single franchise underneath the corporation. This hardly represents the corporation as a whole.

[Dane_in_LA]

Originally Posted by pghquest

Or more likely you could not avoid the discussion by talking about you watching Spongebob..

The Facts About Truth in Advertising In The United States - TMRoe


According to the Federal Trade Commission Act and the FTC's Unfairness Policy Statement, an ad or business practice is unfair if:

· it causes or is likely to cause substantial consumer injury which a consumer could not reasonably avoid; and
· it is not outweighed by the benefit to consumers.

Which one of these would enter the equasion?

None, because it's not a matter of unfair business practice, it's matter of deceptive advertising, which is entirely different. You can't just grab the first link that pops up.

Here:

... the Commission will find deception if there is a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer acting reasonably in the circumstances, to the consumer's detriment.

It's from this excellent policy statement: FTC POLICY STATEMENT ON DECEPTION

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by newtoli

Each State also has their own laws.

I'm not sure if he filed under false advertising or not, but there are protections in place for false advertising.

Absolutely, my very first response was that McDonalds was wrong.. I simply questioned the "reason" for the settlement. More than likely it was to make the whole thing disappear..

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by Dane_in_LA

None, because it's not a matter of unfair business practice, it's matter of deceptive advertising, which is entirely different. You can't just grab the first link that pops up.

Here:

It's from this excellent policy statement: FTC POLICY STATEMENT ON DECEPTION

The commission is NOT involved..