malenkiyscot (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
malenkiyscot) wrote2003-01-22 05:42 pm
malenkiyscot) wrote2003-01-22 05:42 pm
The reason has prevailed. For now.
Happy ending?
McDonald's obesity suit tossed
U.S. judge says complaint fails to prove chain responsible for kids' weight gain.
January 22, 2003: 10:28 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN) - A lawsuit claiming McDonald's restaurant is responsible for making people obese has been dismissed, according to federal Judge Robert Sweet.
The landmark legal action was the first of its kind against a fast-food chain to make its way into a U.S. courtroom, but Sweet's ruling, five months after the original complaint, means it will go no further.
McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) attorneys warned that if this case were allowed to proceed "it would lead to an avalanche of litigation."
"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.
In August, a suit filed by the parents of two girls claimed that McDonald's and two of its restaurants in the Bronx failed to disclose clearly and conspicuously the ingredients and effects of its food, much of which is high in fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol.
The plaintiffs argued that McDonald's should therefore be held accountable for the girls' obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol.
McDonald's obesity suit tossed
U.S. judge says complaint fails to prove chain responsible for kids' weight gain.
January 22, 2003: 10:28 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN) - A lawsuit claiming McDonald's restaurant is responsible for making people obese has been dismissed, according to federal Judge Robert Sweet.
The landmark legal action was the first of its kind against a fast-food chain to make its way into a U.S. courtroom, but Sweet's ruling, five months after the original complaint, means it will go no further.
McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) attorneys warned that if this case were allowed to proceed "it would lead to an avalanche of litigation."
"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.
In August, a suit filed by the parents of two girls claimed that McDonald's and two of its restaurants in the Bronx failed to disclose clearly and conspicuously the ingredients and effects of its food, much of which is high in fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol.
The plaintiffs argued that McDonald's should therefore be held accountable for the girls' obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol.