Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Three L.A. Men Are Suing Chipotle Because They Felt Too Full After Finishing Their Burritos
(Likely) more than 300 calories. (Photo by ABAZABA!! via the LAist Pool of Photos on Flickr)
()
David Desmond couldn't believe his eyes when he walked into the Brentwood Chipotle and saw a gleeful sign advertising a 300 calorie chorizo burrito. It was too good to be true. 300 calories? In a burrito? And it came with white rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa and a sprinkle of cheese? Surely, something must have been wrong.
Eager to experiment with Chipotle's apparently new low-calorie option, Desmond purchased the advertised burrito. While eating it however, he realized something was wrong. From a complaint, filed this week in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Desmond claims that he "felt excessively full and realized that the burrito couldn't have been just 300 calories," after eating the entire thing.
Similar circumstances unfolded in the days following Desmond's unfortunate overeating incident. When Edward Gurevich purchased an uncannily similar burrito at a Chipotle location in Burbank, he too was alarmed at the burrito's apparent size. Though he was also under the impression he burrito he purchased contained only 300 calories, the burrito he ultimately consumed likely contained three to four times that value. The same thing happened to Young Hoon Kim, who also claims he felt bloated after he consumed a purportedly 300 calorie burrito at a Chipotle location inside the Century City Westfield mall.
On Tuesday, Desmond, Gurevich and Kim filed a lawsuit against Chipotle that claims the fast-casual dining chain 'lulls' its customers into "into a false belief that the items they are eating are healthier than they really are," according to City News Service. They claim that a mislabeled sign is grounds for a class action lawsuit, and are suing the company on behalf of—get this—all people who have eaten at Chipotle in the past four years.
Support for LAist comes from
As restitution, the three men are seeking unspecified damages and an injunction against Chipotle that prohibits the company from using allegedly misleading information in its advertising and promotional campaigns.
Altogether, Desmond, Gurevich and Kim claim that the company's advertising misleads consumers into believing, somehow, that burritos weighing more than a pound are healthy. The company's pomp about “food with integrity," its “responsibility raised” meat, and Chipotle's “healthy eating mantra," all do little to counter the objectively unhealthy effect of a 700 calorie bag of chips.
.@ChipotleTweets I love you, but I'm gonna cry foul on a 300 calorie burrito. Rice and beans alone are 300.... pic.twitter.com/n3vkdWhmi6
— OC RunnergirlⓋ (@OCRunner) October 20, 2016
That's about all the news we've got on this one. Trawling through Twitter netted this keen find of the erroneous advertisement. It definetly does say 300 calories, but—and don't take our word for it—what probably happened is a human being made a mistake. Stay tuned, but please don't forget that lawsuits like this are why America is great, again. Imagine living in a country where you didn't have the right to sue a fast-food chain because somebody mislabeled a sign. They exist!
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist