Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp.

Facts

Ashley Pelman and Jazlen Bradley, through their parents, filed suit against McDonald’s Corporation alleging violations of New York’s Consumer Protection Act. The amended complaint alleged that between 1987 and 2002, McDonald’s engaged in deceptive marketing practices by creating the false impression that its food products were nutritionally beneficial and part of a healthy lifestyle when consumed daily. The plaintiffs alleged that McDonald’s failed to adequately disclose that additives and food processing methods rendered its foods substantially less healthy than represented, and that McDonald’s deceptively represented it would provide nutritional information at its New York locations when such information was not readily available. Plaintiffs consumed McDonald’s food three to five times per week throughout the relevant period, believing the food was healthy and wholesome based on McDonald’s representations. As a result, plaintiffs allegedly developed obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, related cancers, and other adverse health effects. The district court dismissed the amended complaint, finding insufficient particularized allegations of reliance and inadequate causal connection between McDonald’s food and plaintiffs’ injuries.