- A man is suing Buffalo Wild Wings, saying its "boneless wings" are closer to chicken nuggets.
- His lawsuit says "boneless" implies the product is a chicken wing that "has simply been deboned."
A man filed a class-action lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings claiming that its "boneless wings" are actually made of chicken breast and are closer in composition to chicken nuggets than wings.
Aimen Halim filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Friday to challenge what he calls "the false and deceptive marketing and advertising of Buffalo Wild Wings' Boneless Wings," according to court documents obtained by Insider.
Halim has also filed at least three other class-action lawsuits — claiming that the "natural" label on Tom's Wicked Fresh Mouthwash and the "high in fiber" label on Kind granola are inaccurate and that Hefty shouldn't label its bags as "recycling bags" because they are not recyclable. The Hefty case was dismissed in August.
Colgate, Kind, and Hefty didn't immediately return requests for comment on Sunday.
Buffalo Wild Wings responded to Insider's request for comment with a link to a tweet from its account seeming to make fun of the lawsuit:
—Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) March 13, 2023
Halim's lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings argues that the restaurant's boneless wings are "not wings at all" and are actually made from slices of deep-fried chicken breast meat.
"Indeed, the Products are more akin, in composition, to a chicken nugget rather than a chicken wing," the document says.
The lawsuit says the label "boneless wings" is misleading because it implies to the consumer that the product is a chicken wing that "has simply been deboned."
"This clear-cut case of false advertising should not be permitted, as consumers should be able to rely on the plain meaning of a product's name and receive what they are promised," the lawsuit says.
Buffalo Wild Wings introduced boneless wings in 2003 and updated the recipe in 2019, saying in a press release at the time that it sold nearly 100 million of them a year.
"The chicken is first marinated in a blend of spices then coated in a savory new breading," the company said in the press release. "With over 30 percent less breading than before, the larger piece of marinated white chicken packs more flavor into every bite."
On its menu, Buffalo Wild Wings describes its boneless wings as "all-white chicken" that's "lightly breaded."
In the lawsuit, Halim accuses Buffalo Wild Wings of recklessly labeling its product as boneless wings while other companies like Papa Johns sell a similar product that they "carefully" call names like "chicken poppers." Domino's sells a menu item called boneless chicken, which the complaint says it labels on the menu as made from "100% whole white breast meat."
"It should be noted that Domino's Pizza and Papa Johns also sell actual chicken wings, and that, a restaurant named Buffalo Wild 'Wings' should be just as careful if not more in how it names its products," the lawsuit says.
Halim's lawsuit demands an unspecified amount of punitive damages, attorneys fees, a jury trial, and any other damages that the judge deems proper, court documents show.
This story has been updated with comment from Buffalo Wild Wings and its tweet.