Pair Crows over Botched Chicken Giveaway, Sues KFC

[WSJ_law_blog]

From the moment Oprah made the announcement, it smelled to us like a lawsuit in the making.

Last month, Oprah Winfrey — in an effort to help struggling Americans — offered to treat everyone to a meal from KFC; two pieces of grilled chicken, two side dishes and a biscuit. Of course, the deal was announced on Oprah’s show.

Thing is, demand was so high that the company had to scale back the offer, asking customers who had printed the online coupons to visit stores for an IOU voucher that included a free Pepsi. Customers were asked to mail it in and wait for a different coupon that would allow them to claim the meal later on. According to this story, from the Daily Press, those new coupons should get to customers in a week or so.

But the solution to the botched giveaway wasn’t good enough for James Asanuma and Veronica Mora, two southern California denizens. The duo filed suit against KFC and its parent company, Yum Brands, in California state court on Wednesday. The suit seeks class-action status. Click here for the LAT story.

The complaint accuses KFC of false advertising, fraud and unfair business practices, among other things. The company, according to the suit, used the promotion to take money from customers who hadn’t intended to spend any.

KFC spokesman Rick Maynard said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit. But, he said, “we apologize to any customers who were inconvenienced, and we remain committed to providing a free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal plus a medium soft drink to those who submitted valid coupons for replacement coupons.”

According to the LAT, the complaint contains a litany of, well, inconveniences, it seems. “Customers who missed out on the free meal spent money on travel, paper and printing to find out about the change, and then wasted more on postage for a mail-in rain check.”