No Bones About It: Judge Allows Buffalo Wild Wings To Keep 'boneless' Chicken On Menu - Beritaja

Are boneless wings immoderate different from chickenhearted nuggets? A national judge weighed successful Tuesday successful a suit against Buffalo Wild Wings.

In a 10-page ruling, U.S. District Judge John Tharp successful Illinois said the sports barroom franchise could proceed to telephone its celebrated paper point “boneless wings,” moreover though they are “essentially chickenhearted nuggets.”

A helping person by the sanction of Aimen Halim revenge a suit successful March 2023 claiming violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act complete Buffalo Wild Wings’ calling them “boneless wings” alternatively of “chicken nuggets.” Tharp decided Tuesday location wasn’t capable nutrient connected the bones of his argument.

“Boneless wings are not a niche merchandise for which a user would request to do extended investigation to fig retired the truth,” Tharp wrote. “Instead, 'boneless wings' is simply a communal word that has existed for complete 2 decades.”

“Halim did not 'drum' up capable actual allegations to authorities a claim," Tharp added. "Though he has opinionated to bring the declare because he plausibly alleged economical injury, he does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers are fooled by Buffalo Wild Wings' usage of the word 'boneless wings.'"

Still, Tharp is allowing Halim to amend his first title by March 20 successful lawsuit he could "provide further facts about his acquisition that would show that BWW is committing a deceptive act."

Halim said successful his suit that he went to a Buffalo Wild Wings edifice successful January 2023 and expected to person "wings that were deboned." He based on that Buffalo Wild Wings' merchandise should beryllium called thing different, for illustration “chicken poppers.”

Buffalo Wild Wings didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment.

In his ruling, Tharp cited a 2024 Ohio Supreme Court ruling connected restaurants and what customers could expect erstwhile they spot an order.

"As the Ohio Supreme Court precocious put it, '[a] diner reference ‘boneless wings’ connected a paper would nary much judge that the edifice was warranting the absence of bones successful the items than judge that the items were made from chickenhearted wings, conscionable arsenic a personification eating ‘chicken fingers’ would cognize that he had not been served fingers," he wrote.