With any company whether is be a celebrity PR firm or like the business I am trying to start, a healthy fast food restaurant, you are going to have legal liabilities that you need to take into consideration. The good news is that they are usually companies in the past that have made mistakes that you can learn from, and hopefully prevent from happen to your own business. While I was looking into what preventative measures I was going to have to take for my fast food restaurant, I came across a number of cases that after reading, I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from and that have given me a better understanding on what has shaped the fast food industry into what it is today.
One of the more recent of these cases was Ashley Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp. This lawsuit against McDonalds mainly focuses on the food that McDonalds serves and how they are portraying the foods nutritional value to consumers. In his particular case, Ashley Pelman, along with three other plaintiffs, was alleging that the making and selling of McDonalds products were deceptive and that that this deception had caused minors who consumed McDonalds’ products to injure their health by becoming obese. In then end the lawsuit cost McDonalds over $12 million.
A second case while poking around on the internet was one that could easily happen at my restaurant, and that has happened to many in the past, the Chude v. Jack In The Box Inc. case. In this particular court case the plaintiff was burned from spilling her coffee that she had gotten from a Jack In The Box drive through all over herself. A similar case took place back in 1993 when a woman named Stella Liebeck was rewarded $2.86 million because her McDonalds coffee burned her. This particular case changed the way coffee is served in the fast food industry and why when you order a hot beverage at a fast food restaurant you will find a, “Caution hot”, warning on every hot beverage cup.
Lastly one case that I found to be relevant to my industry was the Antoninetti v. Chipotle Mex. Grill, Inc. This was a situation where Chipotle restaurants were said to be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. The restaurant was accused of violating the ADA due to the fact that a wheelchair bound man wasn’t able to order because the height of the counter was too high. In the end this case did not cost Chipotle an exorbitant amount of money. However, it did shape the way Chipotle builds their restaurant counters and how future restaurants like them will build theirs in the future.
After reviewing all three of these law lawsuits I have learned a lot and have seen how I will be able to apply these lessons to my own business plan. The first of these involves the type of advertising I will use to promote the food and services offered through my restaurant. To avoid accusations such as the ones seen in the Pelman case, I will make sure that my advertisements are in no way promising something that my restaurant cannot back one hundred percent. Although I want to say you will be a healthier individual by eating at my restaurant, I can’t run the risk of someone who eats there encountering health problems. This could come back on my restaurant and me for serving food that I said would make them healthier and that in the end did no such thing. Another issue is with regards to kids’ meals. McDonalds was accused of having Happy Meal toys, play areas, and birthday parties at their restaurants to lure children to eat there. I originally came up with a plan to have a children’s reward program that would give children a toy once they came to my restaurant five times. This would all be done to encourage children to eat the healthier food at my restaurant. However, after reviewing the McDonald’s case, I will be more cautious when implementing such an initiative that encourages minors to eat at my restaurant. Also, with regards to the food I serve and the containers they are served in, I will take precautions to ensure that they have the proper warnings clearly stated and visible to consumers. This will ultimately help prevent cases such as the Liebeck vs. McDonald’s Inc. Finally, when designing my restaurant’s internal and external features, I will be sure to not overlook the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. This will help ensure that my restaurant is fully equipped to service anyone with a disability.
In the end you can’t protect you and your company against every liability possible. However, it does help to look back at cases that have taken place in your particular industry and to learn from other’s mistakes. As you can see from the examples above, people are waiting to benefit from your misfortunes and in the end you can never know too much about your industry. So study up, because one-thing celebrities have taught us over the years is that you never know what will happen next (i.e. Charlie Sheen). Sources:
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&biw=1384&bih=693&tbs=isch:1&aq=f&aqi=g-s1g-sx8g-msx1&oq=&q=crazy%20charlie%20sheen
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/summary/opinion/us-2nd-circuit/2005/01/25/127985.html
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/summary/opinion/us-9th-circuit/2010/07/26/250834.html
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/summary/opinion/ca-court-of-appeal/2010/05/27/170014.html
http://banzhaf.net/docs/nyckids.html
http://nlpc.org/stories/2010/08/24/chipotle-grill-restaurants-victim-lawsuit-shakedown-artist
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1186037/caution-i-m-hot-are-we-protecting-consumers-or-making-them-dependent-on-the-law-
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.newsrealblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/lessons-learned-bulb.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/04/04/american-universitys-left-wing-campus-theater-inadvertently-teaches-right-lessons/&usg=__6vdHhanbdLo4aNwRg6OBgm9cCoY=&h=493&w=612&sz=70&hl=en&start=0&sig2=BelfkYXskl86P1f5g_qpSg&zoom=1&tbnid=DMQgQDD0c85uvM:&tbnh=161&tbnw=133&ei=O56UTYXdF5L0tgfG4qj2Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlesson%2Blearned%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1384%26bih%3D693%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=429&oei=AJ6UTZa7LNS4tge61cnoCw&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0&tx=71&ty=89
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