An underwhelmed customer is taking the chain to court over the photos of its items versus the real thing.
A Ridgewood, New York guy went on a Taco Bell run in September, and the restaurant reportedly delivered him the basis for a class-action lawsuit in addition to his Mexican Pizza. After paying $5.49 for his Mexican Pizza, Frank Siragusa unwrapped it and compared it to photographs of the Mexican Pizza he’d seen online and at the restaurant, concluding that he’d received around half of the contents the brand claimed.
Siragusa filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell, accusing the company of “‘unlawful’ deceptive acts and practises” and of “misleadingly, inaccurately, and deceptively” presenting its Mexican Pizzas and Crunchwraps in photos and advertisements. The Crunchwrap Supreme, Grande Crunchwrap, Vegan Crunchwrap, Mexican Pizza, and Veggie Mexican Pizza are among the Taco Bell goods named in the case (and categorised as “Overstated Menu Items”).
The lawsuit claims that Taco Bell’s advertisements are “unfair and financially damaging” to customers who do not receive the amount of beef, beans, or other fillings that they paid for; they cause customers to order food that they would not have ordered otherwise; and the photos of those menu items are also luring customers away from competitors’ restaurants.
“Taco Bell’s actions are especially concerning now that inflation, food, and meat prices are very high and many consumers, particularly lower-income consumers, are struggling financially,” says the lawsuit. The complaint seeks $500 in damages for each item sold between July 31, 2020 and whatever the last day of the legal case is.
Siragusa wants Taco Bell to stop using “unfair and materially misleading advertising” for its menu products, as well as cash compensation for any customers who purchased Mexican Pizzas or Crunchwraps.
“Taco Bell does not adequately disclose the weight of the beef or filling,” Anthony Russo, one of Siragusa’s attorneys, told Reuters. “Plaintiff did not make any purchases of the product based on any weight disclosure, but rather solely on the picture of the product, as we believe most consumers do.”
(A request for comment on the current litigation was not immediately returned by Taco Bell.)
Russo and Siragusa’s other attorney, James Kelly, represented a Florida man in a similar action against Burger King last year. The consumer in that case was dissatisfied with a Burger King burger that was smaller than it appeared in images. Burger King’s advertisements, according to the lawsuit complaint, featured the burger with “oversized meat patties and ingredients that overflow over the bun to make it appear that the burgers are approximately 35% larger in size, and contain more than double the meat.” (According to Reuters, the case was finally settled through mediation, although the two parties could not reach an agreement.)
Russo and Kelly also represented another defendant in a case against McDonald’s and Wendy’s over the sizes of their burgers. That case is still pending in court.