Mozzarella sticks that don’t contain mozzarella?! Say it aint so!
A lawsuit alleges that TGI Fridays is falsely advertising “Mozzarella Snack Sticks,” by not including actual mozzarella. So essentially instead of mozzarella sticks, you just have… cheese sticks. Clearly, that can’t happen so why not go and sue!
When you see the name “mozzarella stick,” you likely assume that there will be mozzarella cheese featured. That’s what Amy Joseph says she thought when she ordered a bag of TGI Fridays Mozzarella Stick Snacks from Amazon in early 2021.
Imagine her surprise when the mozzarella sticks snack bags arrived and she learned there wasn’t actually mozzarella inside of them, but instead Cheddar cheese. This encounter prompted Amy to sue TGI Fridays and Inventure Foods, Inc. (the mozzarella stick distributor) for misbranding.
Amy who lives in Illinois filed the lawsuit and is demanding an undisclosed amount of money from the chain restaurant.
Amy says that had she known the shelf-stable snack version of mozzarella sticks contained Cheddar instead of mozzarella, she would not have bought them. Thus, she sued the two companies for three things: a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, committing consumer fraud and deceptive practices in all 50 states and Washington D.C., and unjust enrichment — meaning the companies were monetarily enriched at Amy‘s expense which she claims is unjust.
The judge ruled that the suit could move forward against Inventure on Nov. 28, but not against TGI Fridays, as the restaurant chain licensed its logo but did not make the snack.
U.S. District Judge Robert Dow said Amy‘s allegations were “wholly conclusory and insufficient to render (TGI Fridays) liable,” per Top Class Actions.
“We are pleased with the judge’s ruling,” Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr., Joseph’s lead lawyer, told Today. “The judge agreed with us that the claims in the lawsuit have merit, the case should not be dismissed, and the case may proceed against Inventure Foods as a nationwide class action lawsuit. We intend to proceed against Inventure Foods on behalf of the nationwide class of purchasers of TGI Fridays mozzarella sticks.”
Watch the video below for more details: