Aficionados of the delectable McDonald’s McRib sandwich scarcely had time to celebrate its limited-time return to the fast-food chain’s menu last week before a federal judge, playing skunk-at-the-picnic, spoiled the fun.
The sandwich, for the uninitiated, consists of a “seasoned boneless pork dipped in a tangy BBQ sauce, topped with slivered onions and tangy pickles, all served on a toasted homestyle bun,” according to the McDonald’s website. The pork patty is amusingly pressed into an approximation of a mini-slab of ribs. And therein lies the problem: A litigious and literal-minded quartet of consumers filed suit last year alleging that the company misleads customers by not using more-expensive rib meat. Apparently, “boneless pork” isn’t enough of a hint.
On Friday, just three days after the McRib’s return to many McDonald’s menus across the country, U.S. District Judge April Perry rejected the company’s bid to have the proposed class-action lawsuit thrown out entirely. She’s allowing claims of consumer deception, fraud and unjust enrichment to proceed. No one can accuse Perry of being a homer; she sits in Chicago, as does the McDonald’s headquarters.
Though we will not judge the lawsuit’s merits before the complaint has received a thorough airing in court, we note that the American Tort Reform Association says “frivolous lawsuits waste judicial resources, increase legal costs for businesses, and drive up prices for consumers — all while benefiting trial lawyers at the expense of fairness.”
Businesses should be held accountable for negligently causing harm, but either many U.S. companies are suddenly going rogue or class-action lawsuits are becoming an increasingly popular legal hobbyhorse. The Duane Morris law firm’s annual review found that, last year, plaintiffs “filed more than 13,000 class-action lawsuits in federal courts alone, which equates to more than 36 new class action filings every single day.” The combined value of the 10 highest settlements in 2025 exceeded $70 billion for the first time, the firm reported, continuing a string of four consecutive years of settlements exceeding $40 billion.
Defending against the class-action onslaught, of course, saps corporate resources that could be better deployed for investment, hiring or keeping prices lower for customers. The annual class-action survey by the Carlton Fields law firm earlier this year found that U.S. companies with more than $1 billion in revenue spent a total of $4.53 billion defending against class-action lawsuits, more than double the level in 2011. Spending this year is expected to rise to $4.8 billion, the 11th consecutive record year.
Given the nature of these things, if the suit against McDonald’s alleging McRib fraud and deception is successful, the fast-food industry can expect a bevy of copycat filings. We look forward to reading legal briefs decrying the Dairy Queen Blizzard for containing 0 percent snowflakes and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers as anatomically impossible. It’s long past time for someone to request a paternity test involving Wendy’s Son of Baconator.
Until then, we’ll content ourselves by hanging out at mcriblocator.com, which reports that the latest McRib sighting was in South Hill, Virginia, and the cheapest McRib, at $4.47, can be found in Victoria, Texas. At that price, it’d be tempting to order two.
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