McDonald's Plaintiff Not Your Average McFatso

forbes ^ | Dan Ackman,

[freepatriot32]

NEW YORK - McDonald's has so far prevailed in the lawsuits that have asserted it is partly to blame for its customers' bulging waistlines.

But a new lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco insists the burger giant has failed in its promise to move to a healthier cooking oil, and it is being brought not by fry-eaters but by Kathy Fettke, a "personal coach" and infomercial pitchwoman who "is living her dream by helping others live their dreams."

Fettke, who has also worked as a television host and actor--she played a bridesmaid in Flubber--is married to the similarly employed Rich Fettke, who bills himself as the "best-selling author of Extreme Success." She is also a holder of one of the International Coaching Federation's first Master Certified Coach credentials, an accrediting organization of which Rich Fettke was once vice president.

Kathy Fettke's lawyer is Stephen Joseph, founder of and counsel to BanTransFats.com, a San Francisco-based organization whose goal is the reduction and elimination of trans fats from all food products. It claimed a major success in suing Kraft Foods (nyse: KFT - news - people ) over trans fats in Oreos. But when Joseph dropped the California suit in May 2003, Kraft said it had been working on ways to remove trans fats from the cookies and already had a reduced-fat version on the market.

In the McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people ) case, the plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages and said, "The lawsuit has nothing to do with obesity. Trans fats cause serious medical health problems other than obesity." Indeed they allege that according to the Harvard School of Public Health, 30,000 or more premature heart disease deaths are caused each year by trans fats. (Harvard did do a study on the effects of trans fats in 1994, but concluded that approximately 30,000 deaths "could be attributable" to the consumption of trans fats.)

McDonald's already announced in 2002 it would shift to a new cooking oil with half the trans fats by February 2003, but said operational difficulties have delayed the changeover. The company said it would not comment on the complaint's specific allegations because it had not seen the lawsuit and that it has reduced trans fatty acid (TFA) levels in its McNuggets and other chicken products.

"In February 2003, we made a broad public statement that the change in our cooking oil was taking longer than anticipated and would be delayed," McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa Howard told USA Today. "We continue to work hard to achieve our ambitious goals for reduction of TFAs in our cooking oil."

The lawsuit accuses McDonald's of profiting from its earlier announcement that it was about to cut trans fats, misleading the public. "McDonald's has made only a token attempt to inform its customers that it had not made the change to the new cooking oil. It has deliberately allowed the public to be misled...Meanwhile, it has been reaping millions of dollars in additional profits from customers who believe that they are getting the new healthier oil. If many of those customers knew that they had been duped, they would not eat at McDonald's," BanTransFats.com said in a statement. It wants the company to take more effective steps to inform its customers about its failure to make the change and that it in fact make the change to new cooking oil as soon as possible. Neither McDonald's nor BanTransFats.com was immediately available for comment.

An earlier lawsuit filed in a federal court in Manhattan by overweight teenagers was dismissed, though it may be re-filed. (See: "Judge To Fat Plaintiffs: Where's The Beef?")

It is not immediately clear how Fettke figures as the plaintiff in the case, but according to the Web site for her "reality radio show," called The Edge, there is little that Fettke is NOT concerned with. The show claims to give listeners "the edge" in their lives "with cutting edge information on how to make more money, create [their] dream career, enjoy optimum health, and become more successful in [their] relationships and overall life fulfillment." Cutting trans fats fits in there somewhere

[wildwood]

And now I am off to watch the juveniles that host the weekend addition of Fox and Friends, they are terrible.

interesting experiences you have had...sounds like your life has changed significantly and for the better. too bad more people don't discover this.

you know, when i first starting watching fox and friends weekend, i couldn't get where they were coming from...they seemed silly to me. but the last few years, i think after 9/11, i found myself taking great comfort in their joviality and conviviality. now i watch fox and friends every morning before i go to work. their morning rundown is so thorough in such a short time (6-6:30) that i feel well versed on the day's events.

i really look forward to weekends, too, probably because the world seems so angry and contemptuous these days, of goodness and humor and Americans and fighting for the right cause.

when i watch f & f weekend, they almost seem like family members i never had (not to sound like i am living in a fahrenheit 451 situation...). in short, i have grown to value their cheery regards to start my day. it pretty much sickens me to see cnn anchors trying to ape them, because cnn anchors suffer from overweening hubris, to say the least.

f & f seem more like all of us...just regular folks, intelligent and educated and really enjoying each others' company.

oh,well, that's all. talked your ear off.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

You could do worse - you could watch Ireland's RTE.

[rawhide]

What is in the low-card breakfast bowl, on the top?

I like the looks of the low-carb hamburger. I will have to try it out.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

You could do worse - you could watch Ireland's RTE.

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Do people not get it that you cannot eat fast food everyday and be healthy or even feel good? If I were to eat that stuff on a regular basis I would feel awful.

[Allosaurs_r_us]

"grabs chest*Ack ugh unng my heart my heart call 911"

 

Glad to see someone "gets it"! It is unbelievable to me how in this day and age it always has to be the other guys fault. We are quickly losing what made America the most powerful nation since the days of the Romans. We no longer are teaching independent intelligence. Liberals and progressives nowadays think being a lawyer is the only honorable profession in existence. They have completely lost touch with reality. they are inventing ways to make money off the fears of pathetic individuals that haven't had an original thought since they were 5.

 

We need to set a quota for lawyers. In other words all the colleges combined can only graduate 100 a year until the population catches up. Maybe if we didn't have so many of them we could cut down on these idiotic lawsuits. I mean, why else are we seeing these? It has to be because they don't have anything else to do. Now that would be tort reform. Make a few thousand of these guys flip burgers for a living and they just might realize what work really is. The closest they get to manual labor is walking up the steps to the courthouse and opening the door for their rich clients.

[Caipirabob]

You know something that helped, me? I was big into cheese (as there is a lack of ample Moose in SoFlo.) I found a soy-based product called "Veggie-Shreds" I can get at Publix or Albertson's here. I'll wrap some chicken or steak strips with it and some onions and tomatoes. Awesome meal and it's mostly protein except for the tortilla, but I can eat that as long as I don't eat other major carbs.

I also keep a stair master in front of the TV. I've had bad allergies this year with chronic bronchitis, but with the diet, I've dropped weight where I thought I'd gain (could be the bronchitis, too.) At any rate, it's enabled me to maintain myself consistenly for 3 years (2.5 beyond where the allergies got bad.)

But really, it depends on the individuals physical makeup. Just as some people have a high metabolism and don't require the same constraints that I do, I in turn respond better to higher protein diets and weight drops off with minimal effort.

Still, there are days when you wonder is Chocolate is a blessing or a punishment when you get on the scale.

At any rate, it's become a lifestyle choice now. All the best to you in your efforts...

[SirLurkedalot]

The same to you Sir, see you around!

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

Exactly...
What part of, "nobody is FORCING you to buy these hamburgers", don't they understand??????

[thombo]

Good idea Ikka."the lawyer who took the case shoud be targeted for disbarment and discipline."How about court costs as well?

[AmericanChef]

Gee, anybody remember McLean? Nobody ate it, and McDonalds is there to make money from the masses, and not to pacify a minority of advocates. I stopped eating at McDonalds when they switched to the "new" fat - the fries are like cardboard now, totally inedible.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

But, but...if I don't have some fat in my diet, my eyes lose their sparkle and my silky coat loses it's brilliant sheen!

I find a handful of M&Ms a day helps. :)

[thombo]

Hope u don't mind me jumping in here.Sorry to hear about your loss.Working 6 dys/wk on your farm is the best medecine imo.People trying to lose weight often forget(or don't know)that physical activity is important not only for losing weight,but emotional health as well.BTW a big mac or qtr lb'er w/out the fixins? That's like a big plump glazed jelly donut w/out the jelly.When i'm in diet mode i have to avoid McD's,BKing,etc altogether:)

[Houmatt]

The lawyer for McD's should point out all of the obvious conflicts of interest in bringing the suit, and ask the judge to throw it out.

If it is the same attorney who should have gotten Stella Liebeck on the stand and got her to admit she expected the coffee she purchased to be served hot and she was not under any kind of duress to place that coffee between her legs and remove the lid, and yet did not, forget it. He could not find his own backside with both hands in broad daylight.

[fanfan]

I find Suzanne Somers diet much easier than Atkins.

You can eat all you want as long as you don't mix carbs with protein or fat.

[SirLurkedalot]

LOL My co-worker looked over my shoulder and said "What's the Suzanne Somers diet? 2 crack rocks and 15 hrs with the Thighmaster?"

[StockAyatollah]

Countersuit should be filed, and the lawyer who took the case directly targeted for discipline and possible disbarment.

I wish businesses would go on the offensive and countersue these imbeciles and their scumbag lawyers filing frivolus lawsuits. They are all just parasites that need to dealt with as such. McD's would probably be worried about the negative publicity, but I bet the vast majority of people would actually love it if they counter-attacked. I have often thought that if I ever got wealthy, I would go to law school, become a lawyer and do pro bono work doing just that kind of thing.

[fanfan]

LOL. Did you correct him/her?

[Hildy]

You bet this is what it's about. Personal coaches (life coaches) is one of the fastest growing industries, believe it or not.

[Boss_Jim_Gettys]

"Trial lawyers who sue like this should be ashamed of themselves, but they aren't."

If I were a trial lawyer, I would sue you for writing such a thing about me!