McDonald’s Corporation operates the largest fast food restaurant chain in the United States and the world. It produces famous foods such as the Big Mac hamburger, Chicken McNuggets, the Egg McMuffin, French fries, shakes and other foods. A McDonald’s survey showed that 22 percent of its customers are “Super Heavy Users,” meaning that they eat at McDonald’s 10 times or more a month. Super Heavy Users make up approximately 75 percent of McDonald’s sales. The survey also found that 72 percent of McDonald’s customers were “Heavy Users,” meaning they ate at McDonald’s at least once a week.

Jazlyn Bradley consumed McDonald’s foods her entire life during school lunch breaks and before and after school, approximately five times per week, ordering two meals per day. When Bradley was 19 years old, she sued McDonald’s Corporation for causing her obesity and health problems associated with obesity.

Plaintiff Bradley sued McDonald’s in U. S. district court for violating the New York Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits deceptive and unfair acts and practices. She alleged that McDonald’s misled her, through its advertising campaigns and other publicity, that its food products were nutritious, of a beneficial nutritional nature, and easily part of a healthy lifestyle if consumed on a daily basis. The plaintiff sued on behalf of herself and a class of minors residing in the state of New York who purchased and consumed McDonald’s products. McDonald’s filed a motion with the U. S. district court to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint. Has the plaintiff stated a valid case against McDonald’s for deceptive and unfair acts and practices in violation of the New York Consumer Protection Act? Does McDonald’s act ethically in selling products that it knows cause obesity? Should McDonald’s disclose the information regarding heavy users? Bradley v. McDonald’s Corporation, 2003 U. S. Dist. Lexis 15202 (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)