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A single plaintiff has sued Buffalo Wild Wings and three other companies over the advertising of their products.
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An attorney told Insider these cases may be more “annoying” than productive for consumer advocacy.
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Another attorney questioned whether the plaintiff had suffered real damages in his class-action suits.
A man who made headlines for suing Buffalo Wild Wings for their advertising has sued a bunch of other companies as well, court records show. The pattern has raised eyebrows among legal experts.
Aimen Halim filed his class-action lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings on March 17, claiming its “boneless wings” are actually made of chicken breast, which he said amounts to “deceptive marketing,” Insider reported last week.
Court records show that Halim has also filed suits against Colgate-Palmolive, the makers of Tom’s Wicked Fresh Mouthwash, which he claims is not as “natural” as advertised. He also filed a similar suit against KIND, arguing the “high in fiber” label on their granola is misleading. And in a since-dismissed case against the makers of Hefty recycling bags, Halim argued that the bags are not actually recyclable.
Spokespersons for the three companies did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Bill Marler, an attorney who specializes in food safety cases but is not associated with Halim’s lawsuits, told Insider that these kinds of cases are often unproductive.
“There’s a thin line between consumer advocacy and just being annoying,” Marler told Insider. “It raises the issue about what’s the real purpose here? Is it that they’re being a consumer advocate and then extracting fees and costs out of the company to discourage them from doing it again? Or is it just a tool to extract fees and costs out of a company?”
Attorneys representing Halim did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Neama Rahmani, a formal federal prosecutor, told Insider that class action cases like Halim’s “rarely, if ever, go to a jury trial” because the judge has to first decide that the case is appropriate to receive the “class” certification, meaning the case can represent a group of plaintiffs.
Rahmani also said he felt Halim’s case against Buffalo Wild Wings was weak because, in order to receive a class certification, damages have to be “substantial.”
“You’re getting all white meat chicken breast. Have you really suffered any damage?” Rahmani asked.
Rahmani, who is also not associated with any of Halim’s lawsuits, said attorneys for Buffalo Wild Wings will likely argue that “no reasonable person would believe that there’s actually such a thing as a boneless wing.”
“And then, even if there was, the damages have to be substantial,” she added.
Marler echoed Rahmani’s thoughts, saying Halim’s lawsuits are “not cases that I would even touch with a 10-foot legal pole.”
“I just think that there’s so many other more critical things that you need to litigate,” he said. “I’m just not sure this is one of them.”
Read the original article on Insider
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