Page:Pelman v. McDonald's Corporation (S.D.N.Y. 2003).pdf/7

 of eating at McDonalds, they cannot blame McDonalds if they, nonetheless, choose to satiate their appetite with a surfeit of supersized McDonalds products. On the other hand, consumers cannot be expected to protect against a danger that was solely within McDonalds’ knowledge. Thus, one necessary element of any potentially viable claim must be that McDonalds’ products involve a danger that is not within the common knowledge of consumers. As discussed later, plaintiffs have failed to allege with any specificity that such a danger exists.

McDonalds has also, rightfully, pointed out that this case, the first of its kind to progress far enough along to reach the stage of a dispositive motion, could spawn thousands of similar “McLawsuits” against restaurants. Even if limited to that ilk of fare dubbed “fast food,” the potential for lawsuits is great : Americans now spend more than $110 billion on fast food each year, and on any given day in the United States, almost one in four adults visits a fast food restaurant. Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation 3 (2002) (hereinafter “Schlosser”). The potential for lawsuits is even greater given the numbers of persons who eat food prepared at other restaurants in addition to those serving fast food. See FDA, Food Labeling; General Requirements for Health Claims for Food, 58 FR 2478, 2516, 1993 WL 1547 (Jan. 6, 1993) (“Almost half of the American food dollar is spent on food consumed away from home, and … perhaps as much as 30 percent of the American diet is composed of foods prepared in food service operations.”). In light of these facts, the Court is cognizant of its duty “to limit the legal consequences of wrongs to a controllable degree and to protect against crushing exposure to liability.” McCarthy v. Olin Corp., 119 F.3d 148, 157 (2d Cir.1997) (quoting Strauss v. Belle Realty Co., 65 N.Y.2d 399, 402, 492 N.Y.S.2d 555, 557, 482 N.E.2d 34 (1985)).

The interplay of these issues and forces has created public interest in this action, ranging from reports and letters to the Court to television satire. Obesity, personal liberty and public accountability affect virtually every American consumer.