FILE PHOTO: The Burger King logo is seen in a restaurant in a communist-era building in Warsaw, Poland on October 2, 2017. REUTERS / Kacper Pempel
(Reuters) – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Burger King of misleading vegans, vegetarians, and other customers into thinking that he cooked the plant-based pies for his “Impossible Whopper” on different grills than those used to cook meat. beef and chicken.
In a decision Monday, US District Judge Raag Singhal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida said that the seven plaintiffs did not demonstrate that reasonable consumers were lied to pay higher prices due to Burger King’s actual cooking methods.
He said the plaintiffs did not ask about Burger King’s cooking method or request an alternative to meet their dietary needs, and that the company’s advertising did not promise to cook on a different surface.
“Burger King promised a meatless pie and turned himself in,” wrote Singhal. The judge also found the plaintiffs’ claims “too individualized” to justify a class action.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Plaintiffs can modify most of their claims if they wish.
Burger King is a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc., based in Toronto.
Impossible Foods Inc, which helped create the Impossible Whopper, has said it was designed for meat eaters who want to consume less animal protein, not vegans or vegetarians.
The case is Williams v Burger King Corp, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 19-24755.
Report by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates
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