A Nugget and a Prayer
About two years ago, I wrote about the class action lawsuit filed by Aimen Halim in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, against Buffalo Wild Wings. Halim accused the popular restaurant chain of “false and deceptive marketing and advertising” of boneless wings, claiming that they are more like glorified chicken nuggets since they do not contain chicken wing meat. He asserts that the practice violates the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
“Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other consumers, the Products are not wings at all, but instead, slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings,” reads the suit. “Indeed, the Products are more akin, in composition, to a chicken nugget rather than a chicken wing.”
The complaint goes on to say, “Specifically, the name and description of the products (i.e., as “Boneless Wings”) lead reasonable consumers to believe the products are actually chicken wings. In other words, the products are chicken wings that have simply been deboned, and as such, are comprised of entirely chicken wing meat.”
Halim said he ordered boneless wings at one of the franchises in January of 2023 believing the product was actually “wings that were deboned.” He further claims that had he known the boneless chicken wings were not actual chicken wings, he would not have purchased them, or if he had, he would have paid less.
Halim alleged that Buffalo Wild Wings still “refused to change its practices” despite being informed that their boneless wings contained no wing meat. He believed the chain should have followed competitors Papa Johns and Domino’s Pizza, who market their boneless products as “boneless chicken” or “chicken poppers” and not “wings.” Halim asked the court to order the restaurant chain, which has 1,200 locations, to immediately stop making “misleading representations.”
In February, Judge John Tharp finally dismissed the case, ruling in favor of Buffalo Wild Wings. “Boneless wings are not a niche product for which a consumer would need to do extensive research to figure out the truth,” he wrote. “Instead, ‘boneless wings’ is a common term that has existed for over two decades.”
A man after my own pun-loving heart, Tharp ruled that “Halim did not ‘drum’ up enough factual allegations to state a claim.” He added, “Though he has standing to bring the claim because he plausibly alleged economic injury, he does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are fooled by Buffalo Wild Wings’ use of the term ‘boneless wings.’”
In his ruling, Tharp cited a 2024 Ohio Supreme Court ruling on restaurants and what customers can expect when they place an order. “As the Ohio Supreme Court recently put it, ‘[a] diner reading ‘boneless wings’ on a menu would no more believe that the restaurant was warranting the absence of bones in the items than believe that the items were made from chicken wings, just as a person eating ‘chicken fingers’ would know that he had not been served fingers,” he wrote.
Tharp did, however, allow Halim to amend his initial complaint by March 20 in case he can “provide additional facts about his experience that would demonstrate that BWW is committing a deceptive act.” He expressed doubt, though, that Halim would prevail, holding that “his complaint has no meat on its bones.”
After the decision, Buffalo Wild Wings celebrating the ruling by posting on X, writing, “They’re called boneless wings and will forever be called boneless wings.”
Halim has not indicated whether he would refile, but the decision purportedly ruffled his feathers.
Reg P. Wydeven
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