Super-Size Rejection - The McDonald's

Super-Size Rejection - The McDonald's suit has been tossed.

Although he dismissed the suit, Judge Robert Sweet granted the plaintiffs the option of filing an amended complaint within 30 days addressing the problems that Sweet found in the plaintiffs' original arguments.

Sweet said some of the arguments could be compelling if addressed in more depth, including the allegation that the processing of McDonald's food makes it more dangerous than a customer would have reason to expect.

"If plaintiffs were able to flesh out this argument in an amended complaint, it may establish that the dangers of McDonald's products were not commonly well known and thus that McDonald's had a duty towards its customers," Sweet wrote.

In the current suit, he said, no such hidden dangers are shown.

Exactly.

There are grounds for suing people, and companies, for legitimate damages. That's why we have a civil court system! But as the judge quite rightly pointed out, this suit was based on none of those grounds.

"Where should the line be drawn between an individual's own responsibility to take care of herself and society's responsibility to ensure others shield her? The complaint fails to allege the McDonald's products consumed by the plaintiffs were dangerous in any way other than that which was open and obvious to a reasonable consumer," Sweet said in his ruling.

This is a very good thing.

Posted by Mitch at January 23, 2003 07:28 AM