Subway Class Actions Claim Foot Longs Are Coming Up Short

In late January, at least four separate class actions were filed against Subway alleging that company’s advertised “footlong” sandwiches are not really a foot long.  One class action was filed in Philadelphia state court, one in Illinois state court, one in New Jersey state court, and one in New Jersey federal court.  Each class action alleges the same or similar facts claiming that Subway advertising misled consumers into believing they were purchasing a 12-inch sandwich when in fact they measured an inch to a half-inch shorter.

The lawsuits are result of a picture of an 11-inch sandwich an Australian man posted on the internet that soon went viral.  In response to the controversy that was created by the picture, Subway Australia issued the following statement on its Facebook page, which has since been deleted:

With regard to the size of the bread and calling it a footlong, ‘SUBWAY FOOTLONG’ is a registered trademark as a descriptive name for the sub in Subway® Restaurants and not intended to be a measurement of length.  The length of the bread baked in the restaurant cannot be assured each time as the proofing process may vary slightly each time in the restaurant.

Based on Subway Australia’s statement it is unclear how pervasive and uniform Subway’s sandwiches are. However, since the initial controversy individuals around the globe have been uploading and sharing pictures of their 11-inch subs.  In response to the wave of class actions, Subway issued a press release stating, “[w]e have redoubled our efforts to ensure consistency and correct length in every sandwich we serve… Our commitment remains steadfast to ensure that every Subway Footlong sandwich is 12 inches at each location worldwide.”

If you believe you have been similarly shortchanged by a company’s false advertising scheme, please contact the attorneys at Khorrami, LLP for a free consultation regarding your potential claims.

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