Burger King cannot ignore customers' beef with size of Whoppers, court rules

The class-action lawsuit alleges that Burger King advertisers it's Whoppers to be larger than they actually are

Burger King was unable to shake customers' beef with the burger chain after it lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit that accused the chain of exaggerating the size its Whoppers.

U.S. District Judge Roy Altman in Miami said on Tuesday that Burger King must defend against the claims that its depiction of Whoppers on in-store menu boards mislead reasonable customers, amounting to a breach of contract.

Whopper

A Burger King Whopper sandwich and fries are shown at a Burger King in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. The fast-food chain is defending against a consumer lawsuit that alleges that the chain has misleading advertisement over the size of it's signature Wh (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar / AP Images)

The 26-page class-action lawsuit claims the burger joint has been advertising its signature Whoppers to make them appear "approximately 35% larger in size, and contain more than double the meat, than the actual burger." 

The lawsuit also alleges the company began to "materially overstate" the size of its burgers in ads in September 2017.

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Attorneys Anthony J. Russo and James C. Kelly named four plaintiffs, but are representing at least 100 plaintiffs, the complaint says.J

Burger King Whopper

A federal lawsuit has been filed and is seeking class-action status alleging that fast food burger chain Burger King is misleading customers with imagery that portrays its food, including the Whopper burger, as being much larger than what is actually (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Kelly told FOX Business that the complaint aims to get Burger King and other fast food chains to advertise their menu items in a way that reflects reality.

"We are ultimately seeking changes to the photos for the materially overstated menu items and fairness across the industry on the issue," he said in an email.

Burger King logo at a restaurant

A spokesperson for Burger King told FOX Business in an email that the corporation "does not comment on pending or potential litigations." (Matt Cardy/Getty Images / Getty Images)

A spokesperson for Burger King told FOX Business in an email that the corporation "does not comment on pending or potential litigations."

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The lawsuit aimed at Burger King comes as McDonald's and Wendy's are faced with similar consumer suits in the Brooklyn, New York federal courts. 

Fox Business' Cortney Moore and Reuters contributed to this report.