McDonald’s “Overcharges” By 11 Cents. Sue Them!

Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that McDonald’s (more accurately, a McDonald’s franchisee in the Chicago area) is getting sued for deceptive trade practices.  The complaint is that the price of some Extra Value Meals is actually more than the price of the items bought separately.  In particular, the suit alleges that a Sausage Burrito Extra Value Meal costs $5.08, while the items individually cost $4.97 (in other words, 11 cents more).  The suit claims that this violates Illinois law on consumer fraud and deceptive practices.

It also means Illinois has some pretty stupid consumers.  If you buy an Extra Value Meal for more than the price of the items purchased separately, when all of the prices are right up there on the board in front of you, that is your own fault.  The state should protect you from fraud.  But they don’t need to protect you from your inability, or unwillingness, to compare prices that are right in front of you.

The lawyers, of course, are claiming this should be a class action lawsuit – which is what this is all about.  The whole thing reminds me of a conversation I had 20-some years ago.  We were at a meeting of parents who were sending their kids to a particular school.  One of the parents was a lawyer I had worked with a few years before at a big law firm in downtown Chicago.  We were now both at different places.  I was working for a corporation, and he was on his own, trying to do class action work.  He was frustrated and upset.

He was complaining how hard it was to break into class action work because a few law firms got all the good lawsuits.  Little guys like him could only get dinky little lawsuits.  He had to go looking for some little mistake or vague regulation and then try to sue on that.  There wasn’t enough money in it.

Which is, of course, the story of this lawsuit.  This lawsuit isn’t about a consumer who pays $5.08, when, if they checked things more closely, could have paid $4.97.  It’s about a lawyer trying to get a big corporation to settle a stupid little lawsuit to avoid the cost of defending it.

Consumer protection?  More like lawyers gaming the system.