A new class-action lawsuit filed in Illinois alleges that chicken chain Buffalo Wild Wings is conducting “deceptive” business practices over claims its “boneless wings” are really just chicken nuggets.
The lawsuit was filed March 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by plaintiff Aimen Halim — who currently resides in Chicago — on behalf of himself and potentially several others across the country who have been sued by the plaintiffs. said are “false and misleading”. Marketing and Advertising of Buffalo Wild Wings Boneless Wings.
“The name and description of the products (i.e., as ‘boneless wings’) should lead reasonable consumers to believe that the products are in fact chicken wings,” the lawsuit says. “In other words, the products are chicken wings that have only been deboned, and as such, are comprised entirely of chicken wing meat.”
Halim’s lawsuit states that in January of this year, he purchased boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and based on the name and description of the menu item, he believed it was real wings that had been sold. was deboned.
“Unbeknownst to Plaintiff and other consumers, the products are not wings, but pieces of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings,” the lawsuit reads. “In fact, the products are more similar in combination to a chicken nugget rather than a chicken wing.”
“Had Plaintiffs and other consumers known that the products were not, in fact, chicken wings, they would have paid less for them, or not purchased them at all,” the suit continues. “Therefore, as a result of the deceptive practices of the Defendants, the Plaintiffs and the consumers have suffered material injury.”
Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. and parent company Inspire Brands, Inc. Are included.
Contacted for comment, a representative for both companies pointed to a Twitter Post on the official Buffalo Wild Wings Twitter account.
“It’s true. Our boneless wings are white meat chicken. Our hamburgers do not contain ham. Our buffalo wings are 0% buffalo,” said the post.
The lawsuit states, “This clear case of false advertising should not be allowed, as consumers should be able to rely on the direct meaning of a product’s name and receive what is promised.” “This is especially true in a case like this one, where consumers value genuine chicken wings, and where the defendant had no valid reason to mislead consumers other than to promote a cheap product with its genuine chicken wings.” Is.”
The filing later pointed to the fact that other companies sell products comparable to Buffalo Wild Wings’ “Boneless Wings” and avoid the use of the “Wings” moniker. These include Domino’s Pizza, which has a menu item called “Boneless Chicken”, and Papa John’s, which has a similar menu item called “Chicken Poppers”.
“It should be noted that Domino’s Pizza and Papa John’s also sell actual chicken wings, and that, a restaurant calling itself Buffalo Wild ‘Wings’ should be just as careful as it is not to name its products ,” the suit reads.
The suit also states that “if Buffalo Wild Wings was being transparent with its customers, it could easily change the name of the products” to “boneless chicken” or disclose on its menu that the product was actually boneless chicken. Made from chicken breast meat. “Buffalo Wild Wings is well aware of this issue, but has refused to change its practices,” the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit aims to represent the estimated “thousands” of consumers across the country who, like Haleem, purchased the chain’s “boneless wings” at one of the chain’s more than 1,200 locations.
Halim is seeking “damages, injunctive relief, restitution, declaratory relief, and all other remedies the Court deems appropriate,” but the suit does not specify an exact monetary amount.
This Plantify is far from the first to cry foul about the terminology of “Boneless Wings”.
Just this past February, Ted Anthony of the Associated Press called boneless wings a “culinary lie” — along with “baby carrots” and “Chilean sea bass” — in an impassioned article.
And in September 2020, Ander Christensen, a citizen of Lincoln, Nebraska, gave an impassioned speech on the subject when the forum was opened to the public for comments during a Lincoln City Council meeting.
“We are living a lie,” he told the council members, causing many attendees to burst into laughter, though he rebuffed the giggles from the gallery and continued to make his stand. “I propose that we as a city remove the word boneless chicken wings from our menus – and from our hearts.”
