“His complaint has no meat on its bones,” United States District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. in Illinois wrote in a pun-filled order filed Tuesday, as reported by Carolina Garibay of WBBM Newsradio in Chicago. He was talking about a lawsuit filed over Buffalo Wild Wings.
In March 2023, Aimen Halim filed the suit on behalf of himself and “all other similarly situated,” alleging that the chain of restaurants specializing in fried chicken engaged in “false and deceptive” marketing and advertising practices in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. Halim’s claims were focused on Buffalo Wild Wings’ “Boneless Wings” product he ordered at a Mount Prospect, Ill., Buffalo Wild Wings location.
“The name and description of the Products (i.e., as “Boneless Wings”) leads reasonable consumers to believe the Products are actually chicken wings,” the complaint said. “In other words, that the Products are chicken wings that have simply been deboned, and as such, are comprised of entirely chicken wing meat.”
It went on to say that “the Products are not wings at all, but instead, slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings.” That means they are more like chicken nuggets than wings, the complaint argued. Halim intended for the case to be a class action lawsuit.
Tharp brought William Shakespeare’s “what’s in a name” speech from “Romeo and Juliet” into the mix in his order and noted that the product is “essentially chicken nuggets” served with sauce or seasoning. While Halim found this “confusing,” Tharp said that the plaintiff failed to “plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are deceived by boneless wings.”
First, he said that Halim wasn’t clear about “what, exactly, he expected,” boneless wing meat products to look like or how they would be made. Tharp also said that Halim failed to show that the term “boneless wings” is deceptive.
Here’s why, according to the judge: consumers are often faced with hyperbolic, factually inaccurate statements in marketing that they are not deceived by. An example Tharp used came from Graff Diamond calling its products “The Most Fabulous Jewels in the World” in an advertisement.
Buffalo Wild Wings – a chain founded in 1982 by Buffalo, N.Y., guys who wanted to bring their city’s signature wing preparation to more places in the U.S. – even has an item called “cauliflower wings” on the menu. Customers generally understand that those are not made out of wing meat, Tharp indicated. Likewise, restaurants also sell chicken nugget style products called “chicken fingers” that the public does not generally believe to be made of fingers.
“Boneless wings are not a niche product for which a consumer would need to do extensive research to figure out the truth,” said Tharp. “Instead, ‘boneless wings’ is a common term that has existed for over two decades.”
Ultimately, the judge ruled that, “despite his best efforts, Halim did not ‘drum’ up enough factual allegations to state a claim.” Even so, he’s giving the plaintiff one more shot – Tharp said that any amended complaint is due by March 20 of this year.