McDonald's Must Face Claim that Its Food Caused Obesity, Court Panel Rules

McDonald's Corp. must face a suit by New York teenagers who claim the company hid the health risks of Chicken McNuggets and other foods and made them obese, an appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel overruled U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet's decision to dismiss the suit, which seeks billions of dollars in damages. The New York-based panel vacated Sweet's decision and said the children and their lawyers should be allowed to collect evidence in support of their case. The ruling is a victory for the teenagers, Ashley Pelman and Jazlen Bradley, who claimed food from McDonald's made them obese and led to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. The suit is the first complaint accusing a fast-food chain of hiding the health risks of its food to be considered by a judge. The teenagers said they ate at McDonald's restaurants three to five times a week over a 15-year period. The suit claimed the company hid the health risks of Big Macs, Chicken McNuggets and other foods high in fat and cholesterol in 1987 advertisements in the United States and brochures circulated in Britain. McDonald's said there was no evidence that the teenage plaintiffs, one of whom was born in 1988, saw the ads. The company also defended the accuracy of its ads. [more]