Arby's loses battle to dismiss roast beef false advertising lawsuit

Brooklyn, NY – A federal judge has cleared the way for a proposed class action lawsuit against Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., which accuses the fast-food chain of misleading customers about the amount and quality of meat in its signature roast beef sandwiches.

Plaintiff Joseph Alongis filed the case on behalf of himself and other New York consumers, claiming Arby’s ads falsely represented that its sandwiches contained “rare roast beef” and at least double the meat actually served. The menu items at issue include the Classic Roast Beef, Double Roast Beef, Half Pound Roast Beef, Beef ’N Cheddar variations, and the Smokehouse Brisket.

Arby’s sought to dismiss the case, arguing that Alongis lacked standing to represent customers who purchased different sandwiches or ordered through online platforms such as Uber Eats, Grubhub, Seamless, and DoorDash. But U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury ruled that Alongis had standing to pursue claims on behalf of both in-store and online customers in New York, finding that the alleged misrepresentations raised the same concerns across the product line.

The court partially granted Arby’s motion, dismissing certain aspects of the complaint, but allowed core claims under New York General Business Law §§ 349 and 350, which prohibit false and deceptive advertising, to proceed.

The ruling means Arby’s must now face discovery over whether its marketing misled consumers about the content of its popular roast beef sandwiches.

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