Suit: Subway’s Footlongs come up short
BY KIM JANSSEN Federal Courts Reporter kjanssen@suntimes.com January 23, 2013 5:36PM
FILE - This Aug. 11, 2009, file photo, shows a chicken breast sandwich and water from subway on a kitchen counter in New York. Subway, the world's largest fast food chain, is facing criticism after an Australian man posted a picture on the company's Facebook page on Jan. 16, 2013, of one of its famous sandwiches next to a tape measure that seems to shows it's not as long as promised. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Updated: February 25, 2013 12:47PM
Subway sandwiches are like a boastful, boorish man: often shorter than advertised, a federal lawsuit alleges.
Diner Nguyen Buren filed the suit in Chicago after a “Footlong” sub he ordered at an Uptown restaurant Sunday came back an inch shy.
He says the 11-inch sandwich he was served is typical of the chain’s habit of short-changing customers.
Similar class-action lawsuits filed across the nation this week all make the same allegation.
Subway’s ads are intended to convince customers that “Footlong” subs “are actually one foot, or 12 inches, in length,” they say.
But Buren’s sad sandwich — photographed next to a tape measure in court papers — didn’t measure up. That’s because the frozen dough Subway sends franchisees is too short, he alleges.
His suit claims “he suffered an injury in fact and lost money as a result of the deceptive and unfair conduct.”
Attorney Tom Zimmerman wants other unhappy Subway customers to join the class action, saying they are owed a refund for the portion of each sandwich they didn’t receive. He noted that McDonald’s avoids similar complaints by labeling its Quarter Pounders as a “pre-cooked weight.”
Subway declined to comment on the suit, which also alleges 6-inch subs come up short. A Subway spokesman said the chain has “redoubled our efforts to ensure consistency and correct length in every sandwich we serve.”
