Absurd But True
Burger King Whopper lawsuit: what the court actually decided
- Absurd But True
- 25 Oct 2026
- 0:48
- Short
The short version
Customers sued Burger King in federal court in Miami, saying the Whoppers on its menu boards looked bigger and meatier than the ones they were served. That is the complaint's claim, an allegation. Here is what the court record shows.
Timeline
- 2022: The class action is filed in the Southern District of Florida (No. 1:22-cv-20925, Judge Roy K. Altman).
- August 2023: The judge lets the menu-board claim go ahead and dismisses the claims about TV and online ads. Burger King's response, as reported at the time, was that the patties in its ads are the same patties it serves.
- 25 November 2025: The court denies certification of three nationwide classes (ECF 93).
- 28 January 2026: On a joint stipulation from both sides, the court dismisses the case with prejudice, each side bearing its own fees and costs (ECF 103).
What this does not mean
A dismissal with prejudice by joint stipulation is not a ruling on the merits. No court decided that the burger pictures were misleading, and none decided they were fair. It also is not stated here that anyone paid anyone: the order does not say.
The question underneath
Courts in cases like this have to ask what a reasonable person expects from a burger photo. That question never got a final answer here, which is the absurd part.
Sources
- Class action against Burger King, S.D. Fla. No. 1:22-cv-20925: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-flsd-1_22-cv-20925
- Order on class certification, 25 Nov 2025 (ECF 93): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.610352/gov.uscourts.flsd.610352.93.0.pdf
- Order dismissing with prejudice, 28 Jan 2026 (ECF 103): https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.610352/gov.uscourts.flsd.610352.103.0.pdf
- Order on motion to dismiss, Aug 2023 (NBC News): https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/burger-king-must-face-lawsuit-claiming-whoppers-are-small-rcna102528
- Burger King statement, Aug 2023 (Reuters via Investing.com): https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/burger-king-must-face-lawsuit-over-whopper-ads-4025288
- Class certification denied (Bloomberg Law): https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/burger-king-avoids-class-certification-in-suit-over-whopper-size
Narration in the video is an AI voice and the pictures are AI-assisted illustrations. We are not lawyers; this is not legal advice.
Transcript
Burger King was sued over how big its burger looks in the picture. This is real. Federal court, Miami, 2022. The complaint said menu-board burgers overflowed the bun, with far more meat than the real thing. In 2023, a judge let the menu-board claim go ahead. The TV and online ad claims? Dismissed. Burger King's response: the patties in our ads are the same patties we serve. So a court had to ask what a reasonable person expects from a burger photo. In November 2025, the judge refused a nationwide class action. In January 2026, the case was dismissed, with prejudice. No court ever ruled it misleading. Burger King says it's real. How real? No court ever said. Absurd. But true.
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