Subway will now be offering 12-inch sandwiches that are true to its name, Footlong; as the class-action lawsuit filed against them by their customers come to an end.
Last week, a class-action lawsuit against famous restaurant chain, Subway, came to a close when a judge gave his final apporval to a settlement. This settlement marks the end of the lawsuit filed by customers in 2013, when a photo of the company's footlong sandwich was shared on social media giant, Facebook.
Back then, the photo was shared by an Australian teenager wherein the sandwich only measured 11 inches, despite its name. The photo quickly circulated online and caused quite an international frenzy. This led other members of the media and customers to do their own investigating to figure out the size of the sandwich. Yahoo Finance reports that plenty of these sandwiches had a height of 11 or 11.5 inches, instead of its original claim to measure 12 inches.
On The Associated Press, the settlement shows that Subway has agreed to institute practices to ensure that their sandwich bread measures at least 12 inches long, for the next four years. The settlement previously received preliminary approval back in October.
Each of the 10 individivuals that represented the class received $500 as well as $520,000 in attorney fees; as approved by the judge. However, there was no monetary claim awarded to class members. The Consumerist reports that co-lead attorney for the class, Thomas Zimmerman, believed that proving monetary damages was difficult since everyone ate the evidence.
In her final approval, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin Lynn Adelman wrote that attorneys for the plaintiffs were able to realize that their claims won't be able to hold up after a mediation session. This led the plaintiffs to focus on how they could ensure each Subway footlong sandwich had a size of what it was supposed to be.
In their discovery, the plaintiffs' attorneys shared that the bread arrived in stores frozen and with a similar weight. Before baking, these frozen dough sticks would be thawed and stretched; which resulted to the varying size and shape of the bread.
Despite the difference in appearance of the bread, the number of ingredients added is the same. Each meat and cheese portion has been standardized before hand. As the judge ruled, a shorter sandwich may have a "few shreds of lettuce or a gram or two of mayonnaise" missing. The judge added that customers are allowed to ask for more toppings, however. Because of these factors, Adelman wrote that the plaintiffs were able to learn that the length of the bread did not "affect the quantity of food the customer receives."
In a statement it released to the public, Subway shared that it was pleased with the findings of the judge and that they did not have any wrongdoing in how it performs its business. The company shares that this decision has allowed them to move forward and without distractions on their goal of providing "great tasting sandwiches and salads, made exactly as each guest likes." The company, however, promises that they have already taken necessary steps to ensure that each customer receives a six-inch or Footlong sandwich that they have ordered.
One way they are ensuring this is to implement the "use of a tool for measuring bread" for all its franchisees.
