As a follow up to yesterday’s post on McDonald’s, I thought everyone would be interested to know that Pelman ex rel. Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp. (the lawsuit involving the two children) is still alive after surviving several rounds of dismissal. On September 17, 2006 McDonald’s motion to strike and dismiss the amended complaint in its entirety was denied. Litigation is still pending.
This comes almost one year after the Cheeseburger Bill faltered. The Cheeseburger Bill, other wise known as H.R. 554 [109th]: Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act of 2005, was designed to prevent legislative and regulatory functions from being usurped by civil liability actions brought or continued against food manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade associations for claims of injury relating to a person’s weight gain, obesity, or any health condition associated with weight gain or obesity. This Bill passed in the House but never became law (at the end of each session of Congress all proposed bills and resolutions that haven’t passed are cleared from the books).
Fast forward to 2007 and we have its rebirth- H.R. 2183: Commonsense Consumption Act of 2007. This Bill is sponsored by Rep. Dan Boren [D-OK] to again prevent legislative and regulatory functions from being usurped by civil liability actions brought or continued against food manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade associations for claims of injury relating to a person’s weight gain, obesity, or any health condition associated with weight gain or obesity. This Bill was introduced on May 7, 2007 and on Jun 4, 2007 was referred to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
It will be interesting to see how the Pelman case and H.R. 2183 pan out. Veg Lawyer will keep you updated on both.
To learn more about H.R. 554 [109th]: Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act of 2005, please visit here and to learn more about H.R. 2183: Commonsense Consumption Act of 2007, please visit here. To view other articles reviewed and utilized concerning the Cheeseburger Bill, please see CBS News and BBC News.
