Is a boneless wing actually a wing?
A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit alleging that Buffalo Wild Wings misled customers by marketing its “boneless wings,” which are made from chicken breast meat rather than meat from actual chicken wings.
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Aimen Halim sued the chain, claiming the company violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act. Halim argued he would not have purchased the product at the same price had he known it did not contain wing meat.
U.S. District Judge John Tharp dismissed the case this week, writing that “boneless wing” is a “fanciful” name describing a style of preparation, not a specific body part of the chicken.
Tharp noted that by Halim’s logic, “reasonable consumers should think that cauliflower wings are made (at least in part) from wing meat.” He said that’s clearly not the case and even Halim concedes “cauliflower wing” is just a marketing term, since cauliflowers don’t have wings.
“This Court agrees,” Tharp wrote. “‘Boneless wing’ is also clearly a fanciful name, because chickens do have wings, and those wings have bones.”
The judge also pointed out that Buffalo Wild Wings sells boneless wings at a lower price than traditional wings, which suggests to consumers they are a different product.
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In an advertisement for a buy-one-get-one-free boneless wings promotion, Buffalo Wild Wings stated: “They’re called boneless wings and will forever be called boneless wings.”
