SC Lawyer, March 2005, #2. McDonald's and lawyer advertising.

• Author: By John Freeman

South Carolina Lawyer

Ethics Columns.

SC Lawyer, March 2005, #2.

McDonald's and lawyer advertising

South Carolina LawyerMarch 2005Ethics Watch McDonald's and lawyer advertisingBy John FreemanMany practicing lawyers have found themselves figuratively scalded by jibes stemming from the notorious McDonald's coffee cup spill case. You know the legend: a woman canny enough to hire a slick lawyer was rewarded with an outlandish seven-figure pay-out from the rich, successful fast-food company after clumsily spilling coffee on herself. That the true facts actually are different and disturbing is a minor detail that has gotten lost in the tort reform shuffle. For a report, see Symposium, Justice and Democracy Forum: The Law and Politics of Tort Reform, 4 Nev. L.J. 377, 419 (2003) (remarks of Professor Rob Correales).

Lawyers beware: McDonald's sales activity is back in the news, offering more ammunition to lawyer-bashers. On January 25, 2005, a unanimous Second Circuit panel reinstated a New York consumer protection class action attacking McDonald's nutritional advertising. Pelman v. McDonald's Corp., 2005 WL 147142 (2nd Cir. 2005). Among other things McDonald's was attacked for allegedly claiming to promote a healthful lifestyle and nutritionally beneficial products while concealing its use of additives and food processing procedures that were substantially less healthful than represented. Plaintiffs alleged that as a consequence of McDonald's misconduct, class members have developed...