Baby FTC Act Claim Against Applebee’s Alleging False Menu Nutrition Labeling Fails

The parent corporation of Applebee’s® restaurants satisfied federal law and regulations governing menu nutritional labeling, which preempts the California consumer rights statutes under which the plaintiff sued claiming that the menu nutritional information was false or misleading, the California Court of Appeal, First District, concludes in an unpublished opinion (Jones v. DineEquity, Inc., Cal. Ct. App., 1st Dist, No: A128458).

Challenged Conduct.

Maria Jones sued DineEquity, Inc., the parent company of Applebee’s restaurants, on behalf of herself and a putative class of diners who ordered items off the “Weight Watchers® menu” at Applebee’s restaurants.

Jones alleged that ...