Two Florida Customers Suing McDonald’s for Putting Cheese on Their Burgers

Cynthia Kissner and Leonard Werner believe they are being unfairly charged for their “Quarter Pounders,” since other burgers cost less without cheese.

Yes, really.

The five million dollar lawsuit was filed on May 8 in Fort Lauderdale, and is seeking class-action status. According to the Miami Herald, McDonald’s used to offer four different options for the popular sandwich, two of which came without cheese and cost between 30 and 90 cents less.

The lawsuit says “at some point” the restaurant stopped “separately displaying these products for purchase on menus, and currently lists the availability of Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese.” Because of this, “customers have been forced, and continue to be overcharged for these products, by being forced to pay for two slices of cheese, which they do not want, order, or receive, to be able to purchase their desired product.”

The lawsuit claims “McDonald’s is being unjustly enriched by these practices because it receives payment for cheese it does not deliver to its customers,” and the plaintiffs “have suffered injury as a result of their purchases because they were overcharged, and were required to pay for cheese, which is not a component of either a Quarter Pounder or a Double Quarter Pounder, that they did not want and did not receive.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson contacted USA Today, maintaining the company does not “believe the claims in this lawsuit have legal merit.” They said, “The advertised Quarter Pounder burger comes with cheese. We try to accommodate our customers’ requests by allowing them to customize their orders, such as a Quarter Pounder with no cheese.” Further it was noted that individual franchisees set their own prices for products on the menu.