Federal Judge Tosses Suit Claiming Boneless Chicken Wings Are Not Wings

Saying the complaint has “no meat on its bones,” a federal judge in Illinois has dismissed a lawsuit by a man who sued Buffalo Wild Wings claiming he was deceived over its boneless wings.Aimen Halim sued in 2023 after purchasing boneless wings from the national restaurant chain. He said that he thought the pieces of chicken breast meat were real chicken wings with the bones removed.Mr. Halim claimed that Buffalo Wild Wings “fools its customers on purpose” by using breast meat because it is cheaper than wing meat. He sought to make his complaint a nationwide class-action suit.Mr. Halim suggested the product should be called something different, like “chicken poppers.”“Despite his best efforts, Halim did not ‘drum’ up enough factual allegations to state a claim,” Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. wrote in his opinion. “Halim does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are deceived by boneless wings.”Mr. Halim said the fact that the restaurant is called Buffalo Wild Wings and that boneless wings are presented as an alternative to traditional wings mean that reasonable consumers would think boneless wings are made from wing meat.Buffalo Wild Wings countered that Mr. Halim’s arguments would apply equally to cauliflower wings, which are also sold under the wings section of the menu.“If Halim is right, reasonable consumers should think that cauliflower wings are made (at least in part) from wing meat. They don’t, though,” Judge Tharp wrote. “Even Halim concedes that point, saying that ‘cauliflower wing’ is clearly a fanciful name because cauliflowers do not have wings.”That court gave the example of a Graff Diamond ad calling its products “The Most Fabulous Jewels in the World.” “While literally false, that statement is not misleading, because ‘no one is deceived,'” Judge Tharp wrote.The judge also noted that boneless wings are “not a niche product” and Buffalo Wild Wings has sold them since 2003.“It’s unclear what, exactly, Halim expected such wing fillets to look like, or how he thought they would be made,” Judge Tharp wrote.After the suit was initially filed, Buffalo Wild Wings posted a response on X. “It’s true. Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken. Our hamburgers contain no ham. Our buffalo wings are 0% buffalo.”The judge did say that Mr. Halim does have standing to bring a claim that he plausibly suffered economic injury. Judge Tharp stated that he was skeptical that Mr. Halim could provide additional facts to demonstrate that claim but he would “give him leave to try.”Mr. Halim has a March 20 deadline to amend his complaint and resubmit it.

Federal Judge Tosses Suit Claiming Boneless Chicken Wings Are Not Wings

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