Lawmakers Move To Stop Overweight People From Suing Restaurants

[matcom]

<snip>

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's not a "Cheeseburger in Paradise," but some lawmakers in Minnesota want to give the burger some legal protection.

A state House panel has unanimously approved legislation to prevent overweight people from suing restaurants, food companies or farmers for health problems.

One lawmaker said the court system is as clogged as cholesterol-filled arteries.

The Minnesota legislators didn't seem too worried about their weighty bill or their waistlines. They munched on candy, cheese and ice cream while they voted.

http://www.wftv.com/food/4202685/detail.html

[Arkana]

1. Well, that could be a good thing in some cases

You'd no longer get the stupid people who fatten their kids up on Whoppers and Happy Meals and then sue McDonald's and Burger King.

[KurtNYC]

2. Mc Donalds just settled a suit for $8.5 million

Why should anyone or any group be denied access to the courts? If these suits are/were without merit then McDonald's and others wouldn't be settling them out of court and lobbying to strip Americans of their right to have our courts decide if the risks were fully disclosed.

McDonald's has agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit over artery-clogging trans fats in its cooking oils, the company said Friday.

McDonald's said it will donate $7 million to the American Heart Association and spend another $1.5 million to inform the public of its trans fat plans.

The settlement is the result of litigation from a San Francisco-area activist who has been seeking to raise public awareness of the health dangers from the trans fatty acids (TFAs) in hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/11/transfats.settlement.... /

This is in parallel to threatened lawsuits which allege that McDonald's misrepresents the health effects of its food in their marketing efforts (eg. showing athletes eating fench fries). Many have stated that people should not expect healthy food from McDonalds and have scoffed at such suits. However, McDonald's has seen fit to settle this lawsuit and focus more research on how to remove trans fat from their foods.

Trans fat is believed to cause between 30,000 and 100,000 premature deaths in the US each year.

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. Is this really necessary?

How many individuals have the resources to sue a corporation like McDonalds or Burger King? If someone does sue, they have to prove the allegations against a battalion of McLawyers. Even if someone is wrong or malicious, the court system will take care of those cases.

I have a hard time feeling sorry for fast food restaurants. They DO market to kids. They ARE trying to portray themselves as healthy. Some of the additives in the food may be addictive. It's not that I think that eating junk isn't a choice, but that people deserve their day in court.

[WildClarySage]

4. You might stop one highly publicized case of

"Eating McDonalds Made Me Fat!" but what about the case against McDonalds for lying about what is in their food? I agree with the poster who said it's hard to feel sorry for them.

This is another chip at our right to sue corporations who trample on us.