Taco Bell customer has beef with his skimpy Mexican Pizza. Now he’s suing
Frank Siragusa ordered a Mexican Pizza for $5.49 at a New York City Taco Bell last September. But his purchase left him feeling ripped off, so now the man has filed a class action lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of “unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
The lawsuit, filed July 31 in the Eastern District of New York, says Taco Bell serves half the amount of advertised beef and other ingredients in several of their menu items.
“If Plaintiff knew that the Mexican Pizza contained half of the amount of beef and bean filling as advertised, he would not have purchased the Mexican Pizza and/or he would not have paid the $5.49 price that he paid for the Mexican Pizza,” the suit states.
Taco Bell didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Siragusa says the matter exceeds $5 million, though the exact amount of damages suffered will be determined at trial, according to the filing.
He said in the lawsuit that those who purchased a Crunchwrap Supreme, Grande Crunchwrap, Vegan Crunchwrap, Mexican Pizza or Veggie Mexican Pizza in New York are entitled to compensation. The suit alleged that thousands were affected.
The lawsuit includes side-by-side photos of Taco Bell’s advertised menu items versus items that customers allegedly received, gathered from Reddit, YouTube and other online news articles. The suit also cites reviews from The Sun, Mashed.com and YouTube food reviewers who commented on the less-than-promised amounts of filling in their items.
Anthony Russo of The Sun wrote an article in 2022 that was mentioned in the lawsuit. The review, titled “PIZZA THAT I tried Taco Bell’s new Mexican pizza as it returns to menu again – it looks NOTHING like the pictures,” states that his Mexican Pizza “wasn’t as beefy as the commercial pictures made it look. Sometimes commercial pictures could be deceiving, just like I discovered with the lack of meat in person.”
People took to social media to share their thoughts on the lawsuit.
One person posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “I’ve ordered these before and was always amazed at how little beef they had. I know promo photos always exaggerate food, but this was a particularly egregious example of misleading people.”
Not everyone, however, says the case of missing beef is worth legal action.
A Facebook user wrote, “None of the fast food restaurants’ food looks like they advertise, but to sue them over it is ridiculous.”
The suit calls the practice “unfair and financially damaging,” especially given current inflation. It goes on to say that “many consumers, especially lower income consumers, are struggling financially.
“Plaintiff and the members of the Class have been injured inasmuch as they received approximately 100% less than the amount of beef and ingredients that were advertised. Accordingly, Plaintiff and the members of the Class received less than what they bargained and/or paid for.”
The suit calls for a trial by jury.
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