WASHINGTON - s4story -- A federal judge has refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against McDonald's which alleges that offering a so-called McRib sandwich, which contains no pork rib meat, constitutes consumer-deception, fraud, and unjust-enrichment, notes public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

While some pundits are criticizing the lawsuit as frivolous, a similar but weaker law suit against McDonald's not only forced the fast food giant to settle for over $12 million and make a public apology; it also inspired a series of successful lawsuits against other food companies including KFC, Kellogg, Kraft, Coca Cola, and more.

Interestingly, the legal action which started this new "fat lawsuit movement" was put together as a class project by several law students, and attacked McDonald's for making a statement which was actually true, says their professor.

McDonald's had claimed that its french fries were cooked in 100% pure vegetable oil.  But the law students argued that, although this statement was true, it could be misleading because the fries were also pre-cooked in beef fat.

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Although the amount of beef fat was minute, the lawsuit was nevertheless very successful, and spawned a number of other very successful fat-related legal actions.

If a lawsuit put together by a few second-year law students, and based upon a statement which was true, can force McDonald's to settle, mend its ways, and apologize, a suit based upon two different forms of affirmative deception - both in the name of its product and in its appearance deliberately designed to resemble real pork ribs - can be equally successful, says the activist law professor who has been called "a Driving Force Behind the Lawsuits That Have Cost Tobacco Companies Billions of Dollars," a "King of Class Action Lawsuits," and "The Law Professor Who Masterminded Litigation Against the Tobacco Industry."

These ten other successful fat law suits, triggered by the McDonald's settlement Banzhaf's law students obtained, included the following: . . .

All this proves, says Prof Banzhaf - who also helped to get ingredient labeling of grocery store food items, and the posting of calorie counts by fast food chains - that litigation can play an important role in protecting public health.

jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf