Editing Burger King (section)

==Legal cases and disputes==
{{Main|Burger King legal issues|Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois)|Burger King (Alberta)|Burger King Corporation v Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd}}
[[File:Mattoon Burger King.jpg|thumb |The ''Burger King'' restaurant in [[Mattoon, Illinois]], originally owned by the Hoots family. This location was one subject of major litigation by Burger King.|alt=The Hoot's family Burger King in Mattoon, Illinois, unrelated to Burger King Corporation]]
Burger King has been involved in several legal disputes and cases, as both plaintiff and defendant, in the years since its founding in 1954. Depending on the ownership and executive staff at the time of these incidents, the company's responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics and litigants, to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences.<ref name="nyt-nyhc">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/08/nyregion/how-fat-burger-king-to-post-answers.html?sq=Burger+Center+for+Science+in+the+Public+Interest&scp=1&st=cse |title=How Fat? Burger King to Post Answers |first=Trish |last=Hall |work=The New York Times |date=August 8, 1991 |access-date=May 30, 2008 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122060120/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/08/nyregion/how-fat-burger-king-to-post-answers.html?sq=Burger+Center+for+Science+in+the+Public+Interest&scp=1&st=cse |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fmnp">{{cite web|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20080704/NEWS01/107040011/1014/business |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129162959/http://www.news-press.com/article/20080704/NEWS01/107040011/1014/business |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |title=Burger King gets farm workers petition; Daughter of Burger King VP says dad wrote anti-coalition postings |first=Amy |last=Bennett Williams |work=[[The Fort Myers News-Press]] |date=April 28, 2008 |access-date=April 28, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="fmnp-spy">{{cite web|url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20080704/NEWS01/107050001 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129172359/http://www.news-press.com/article/20080704/NEWS01/107050001 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2013 |title=Tomato pickers feeling spied on |first=Amy |last=Bennett Williams |work=[[The Fort Myers News-Press]] |date=April 12, 2008 |access-date=June 9, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="nrn-ciw">{{cite web |url=http://www.nrn.com/article/burger-king-relents-agrees-extra-penny-pound-payment-aid-fla-tomato-pickers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121201702/http://nrn.com/article/burger-king-relents-agrees-extra-penny-pound-payment-aid-fla-tomato-pickers |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |title=Burger King relents, agrees to extra penny-per-pound payment to aid Fla. tomato pickers |first=Catherine |last=Cobb |work=[[Nation's Restaurant News]] |date=June 2, 2008 |access-date=August 14, 2010}}</ref> The company's response to these various issues has drawn praise<ref name="NYT-PETA">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28burger.html |title=Burger King Shifts Policy on Animals |first=Andrew |last=Martin |work=The New York Times |date=March 28, 2007 |access-date=March 9, 2008 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130131/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/business/28burger.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Fox-PETA">{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,261903,00.html |title=Burger King Offers Cage-Free Food |agency=Associated Press |work=Fox News |date=March 28, 2007 |access-date=August 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111073015/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,261903,00.html |archive-date=November 11, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as, in some instances, suggestions of political appeasement.<ref name="nyt-rage">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/arts/20conn.html?scp=1&sq=Burger+King+Islam+Ice+Cream&st=nyt |title=History Illuminates the Rage of Muslims |first=Edward |last=Rothestien |work=The New York Times |date=February 20, 2006 |access-date=June 4, 2008 |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114103428/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/arts/20conn.html?scp=1&sq=Burger+King+Islam+Ice+Cream&st=nyt |url-status=live }}</ref>

Legal decisions from suits involving Burger King have set contractual law precedents in regards to [[long-arm statute]]s, the limitations of [[franchising|franchise agreements]], and ethical business practices.<ref name="findlaw">{{cite web |date=May 20, 1985 |title=471 U.S. 462 |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/471/462.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828212829/http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/471/462.html |archive-date=August 28, 2015 |access-date=March 4, 2008 |work=[[Findlaw]]}}</ref><ref name="teply">{{cite book |last1=Teply |first1=Larry L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r7Psaabe_U8C&q=Burger+King+v.+Rudzewicz&pg=PA244 |title=Cases, Text, and Problems on Civil Procedure |last2=Whitten |first2=Ralph U. |publisher=Wm. S. Hein Publishing |others=Denis F. McLaughlin |year=2002 |isbn=0-8377-3725-7 |pages=244–258 |access-date=September 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123073141/https://books.google.com/books?id=r7Psaabe_U8C&q=Burger+King+v.+Rudzewicz&pg=PA244 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of these decisions have helped define general business dealings that continue to shape the entire marketplace.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Halpern |first1=Sheldon W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZATG6vcJxQ0C&q=burger+king+of+florida+inc+v+hoots&pg=PA354 |title=Fundamentals of United States Intellectual Property Law: Copyright, Patent and Trademark |last2=Nard |first2=Craig Allen |last3=Port |first3=Kenneth L. |publisher=Kluwer Law International |year=2006 |isbn=90-411-2599-X |location=Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands |page=354, text and footnote 326}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="temple-lee">{{cite journal |last=Lee |first=Mona A. |date=Fall 1993 |title=Burger King's Bifurcated Test For Personal Jurisdiction: The Reasonableness Inquiry Impedes Judicial Economy And Threatens A Defendant's Due Process Rights |journal=Temple Law Review |publisher=[[Temple University]] of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education |volume=66 |page=945}}</ref><ref name="fls-Welkowitz">{{cite journal |last=Welkowitz |first=David S. |date=October 1987 |title=Beyond Burger King: The Federal Interest In Personal Jurisdiction |journal=Fordham Law Review |publisher=[[Fordham Law School]] |volume=56 |issue=1}}</ref>

=== Trademark disputes ===
A trademark dispute involving the owners of an unrelated restaurant also named Burger King in [[Mattoon, Illinois]], led to a federal lawsuit. As a result, the larger Burger King chain was ordered not to build any franchises within a 20-mile radius of the Mattoon Burger King.<ref name="hoots">{{cite web |url=http://illinoistimes.com/article-619-the-burger-king-and-queen-of-mattoon.html |title=The burger king and queen of Mattoon |first=John |last=Jermaine |work=The Illinois Times |date=November 20, 2003 |access-date=September 26, 2007 |archive-date=December 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229094356/https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/the-burger-king-and-queen-of-mattoon/Content?oid=11449463 |url-status=live }}</ref> An existing trademark held by a shop of the same name in South Australia forced the company to change its name in Australia to "Hungry Jack's",<ref name="BKau">{{cite news|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4275422-1.html |title=Burger King Re-flags Australian Stores |agency=Restaurant Business News |publisher=AllBusiness.com |date=May 30, 2003 |access-date=September 29, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012002357/http://allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4275422-1.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 }}</ref> while another state trademark in Texas forced the company to abandon its signature product, the Whopper, in several counties around San Antonio.<ref name="barkoff">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVmD3FAG3zgC&q=Fundamentals+of+Franchising |title=Fundamentals of Franchising |first=Rupert M. |last=Barkoff |publisher=[[American Bar Association]] |date=January 25, 2005 |access-date=September 29, 2007 |isbn=1-59031-409-3 |page=23 |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212045408/https://books.google.com/books?id=eVmD3FAG3zgC&q=Fundamentals+of+Franchising |url-status=live }}</ref> The company was only able to enter northern [[Alberta]], in [[Canada]], in 1995, after it paid the founders of [[Burger King (Alberta)|another chain named Burger King]].<ref name="alberta">{{cite news |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Burger+King+Corp.+announces+plans+to+expand+in+Edmonton,+Alberta.-a017271669 |title=Burger King announces plans to expand in Edmonton, Alberta |agency=[[Business Wire]] |date=August 28, 1995 |access-date=January 16, 2017 |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002225115/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Burger+King+Corp.+announces+plans+to+expand+in+Edmonton,+Alberta.-a017271669 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Franchises in Israeli settlements ===
Further controversies have occurred during the company's expansion in the Middle East. The opening of a Burger King location in [[Ma'aleh Adumim]], an [[Israeli settlement]] in the [[Israeli-occupied territories|Israeli-occupied]] [[Palestinian territories]], led to a [[breach of contract]] dispute between Burger King and its Israeli franchise due to the hotly contested international dispute over the legality of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories in accordance to international law. The controversy eventually erupted into a geopolitical dispute involving Muslim and Jewish groups on multiple continents over the application of, and adherence to, [[international law]].<ref name="jewishhsf">{{cite news |url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/11537/dumping-west-bank-store-puts-burger-king-in-a-pickle/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205091033/http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/11939/edition_id/230/format/html/displaystory.html |archive-date=February 5, 2008 |title=Dumping West Bank store puts Burger King in a pickle |first=Julia |last=Goldman |work=The Jewish News Weekly |date=September 1, 1999 |access-date=October 1, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Faxx-Jewish">{{cite news|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/middle-east/israel/394208-1.html |title=Jews Plan to Boycott Burger King |agency=Israel Faxx news report |publisher=Israel Faxx |date=August 30, 1999 |access-date=June 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102121623/http://www.allbusiness.com/middle-east/israel/394208-1.html |archive-date=January 2, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Faxx-Muslim">{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/middle-east/israel/711850-1.html |title=U.S. Muslims Call For Burger King Boycott |first=Candice |last=Williams |publisher=Israel Faxx |date=July 7, 2007 |access-date=June 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102114957/http://www.allbusiness.com/middle-east/israel/711850-1.html |archive-date=January 2, 2009 }}</ref> The case eventually elicited reactions from the members of the 22-nation [[Arab League]]. The [[Islamic countries]] within the League made a joint threat to the company of legal sanctions including the revocation of Burger King's [[business license]]s within the member states' territories.<ref name="Faxx-Jewish"/><ref name="Faxx-Muslim"/><ref name="muddle">{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4284932-1.html |title=Middle East Muddle |first=Megan |last=Steintrager |work=Nations Restaurant News |date=November 5, 2000 |access-date=June 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102151035/http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/eating-drinking-places/4284932-1.html |archive-date=January 2, 2009 }}</ref>{{Clear}}

=== Other lawsuits ===
On April 9, 2019, ''[[Nations Restaurant News]]'' reported that Burger King filed a lawsuit on Fritz Management LLC to remove Burger King trademarks from 37 units in [[South Texas]] after unsanitary conditions were found at a restaurant in [[Harlingen, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/burger-king-sues-pull-trademarks-37-texas-units|last=Ruggless|first=Ron|date=April 9, 2019|title=Burger King sues to pull trademarks from 37 Texas units|work=[[Nation's Restaurant News]]|access-date=April 10, 2019|archive-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410123928/https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/burger-king-sues-pull-trademarks-37-texas-units|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2019, the lawsuit was settled with the franchisee, Fritz Management (a subsidiary of [[Sun Holdings]] Inc), keeping the trademarks on all 37 units.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/burger-king-texas-franchisee-settle-lawsuit|last=Ruggless|first=Ron|date=May 16, 2019|title=Burger King, Texas franchisee settle lawsuit|work=[[Nation's Restaurant News]]|access-date=May 27, 2019|archive-date=May 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527221415/https://www.nrn.com/quick-service/burger-king-texas-franchisee-settle-lawsuit|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telemundo40.com/noticias/destacados/Burger-King-demanda-a-franquicia-local-Fritz-Management-LLC-Guillermo-Perales-reportaje-Telemundo-40-Investiga-insalubridad-508399741.html|date=May 2, 2019|title=Franchise will continue to operate Burger King after reaching an amicable agreement|work=[[NBC Owned Television Stations|Telemundo 40]]|language=es|access-date=May 27, 2019|archive-date=May 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527221410/https://www.telemundo40.com/noticias/destacados/Burger-King-demanda-a-franquicia-local-Fritz-Management-LLC-Guillermo-Perales-reportaje-Telemundo-40-Investiga-insalubridad-508399741.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 19, 2019, a lawsuit was filed by a vegan from [[Atlanta, Georgia]] against Burger King for allegedly failing to clearly disclose that [[Impossible Whopper]] burgers were heated on the same grill as their beef burgers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vegan sues Burger King for cooking Impossible Whopper on meat grill|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6187629/impossible-whopper-burger-king-meat-lawsuit/|last=Elliott|first=Josh K.|date=November 19, 2019|website=Global News|access-date=June 1, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207211731/https://globalnews.ca/news/6187629/impossible-whopper-burger-king-meat-lawsuit/|url-status=live}}</ref> The lawsuit was dismissed.<ref name="Burger King wins dismissal of vegans lawsuit">{{cite news |title=Burger King wins dismissal of vegans' lawsuit over Impossible Whopper |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rstrnt-brnd-burger-king-impossible-wh/burger-king-wins-dismissal-of-vegans-lawsuit-over-impossible-whopper-idUSKCN24M340 |access-date=June 9, 2023 |work=Reuters |date=July 21, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

On March 28, 2022, a lawsuit was filed against Burger King, alleging the fast food chain falsely advertised the Whopper to "look about 35% bigger in its advertising than it is in reality".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Burger King sued by customers who claim Whopper is smaller than advertised |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/burger-king-sued-whopper-false-advertising/ |access-date=April 5, 2022 |website=CBS News |date=April 5, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Burger King accused of false advertising in lawsuit alleging Whoppers are too small |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/burger-king-false-advertising-lawsuit-whopper-burgers-rcna22916 |access-date=April 5, 2022 |website=NBC News |date=April 4, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> On May 5, 2025, Federal Judge Roy Altman allowed the case to proceed, stating the claims may reasonably suggest consumers were misled and that Florida law permits such misrepresentation suits without a special relationship. Burger King argued that differences between ads and actual burgers are typical of handmade food and standard marketing practices.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=Judge allows lawsuit over Burger King's Whopper ads to move forward |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/judge-allows-lawsuit-burger-kings-whopper-ads-move-forward-rcna205304 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>