By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Frank Siragusa wasn’t happy that the $5.49 Mexican pizza he paid for at Taco Bell in New York City last September appeared to have only half as much beef and bean filling as the picture in the chain’s ad. So he sued.
In a proposed class action filed Monday in Brooklyn federal court, Siragusa accused Taco Bell of deceiving consumers by falsely advertising Mexican Pizza, Veggie Mexican Pizza, Crunchrup Supreme, Grand Crunchrub, and Vegan Crunchrub as containing “twice” their actual content. the least.
Siragusa, of Ridgewood, New York, included photos showing food filled with beef, cheese, and bright red-green vegetables, along with “actual” photos of smaller, less vibrant food that other customers had posted online.
The complaint said Taco Bell’s advertising is “unfair and financially harmful to consumers” and “particularly concerns now that inflation, food and meat prices are so high and that many consumers, especially low-income consumers, are struggling financially.”
The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million for Taco Bell customers who purchased the five items in New York state in the past three years. It does not claim that the items contain less content than what Taco Bell describes on its website.
Taco Bell, a unit of Yum Brands, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last year, one of Siragusa’s lawyers filed a still pending lawsuit in Brooklyn accusing McDonald’s and Wendy’s over the actual versus advertised size of the burger.
Another attorney, Anthony Russo, filed a similar case last year in Miami against Burger King over lint. That suit went to mediation, deadlocking.
“Taco Bell does not adequately disclose the weight of the beef or the filling,” Russo said in an email. “The plaintiff did not make any purchases of the product based on any weight disclosure but solely based on the image of the product, as we believe most consumers do.”
The case is Siragusa v Taco Bell Corp, US District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 23-05748.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
