Private company
McDonald's legal cases
Lawsuits involving the fast food chain
McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases in the course of the fast food chain's 70-year history. Many of these have involved trademark issues, most of which involving the "Mc" prefix, but McDonald's has also launched a defamation suit which has been described as "the biggest corporate PR disaster in history".2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
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McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases in the course of the fast food chain's 70-year history. Many of these have involved trademark issues, most of which involving the "Mc" prefix, but McDonald's has also launched a defamation suit which has been described as "the biggest corporate PR disaster in history".2
Controversies and legal
Halal food lawsuit (Dearborn, Michigan)
In 2013, McDonald's stopped serving halal food, which is consistent with Islamic dietary laws, at the only two locations in the US that served halal food, both located in Dearborn, Michigan after a $700,000 lawsuit filed in 2001 where a customer alleged the menu items were not consistently halal. The case was brought to court by Michael Jaafar, a Detroit lawyer of Fairmax Law who filed a consumer protection class action lawsuit against McDonald's for advertising halal foods.
Byron Allen non-purchase lawsuit (United States)
In 2025, McDonald's settled a years-old lawsuit from Allen Media Group in which owner Byron Allen had accused McDonald's of illegally refusing to buy airtime on Allen's Entertainment Studios Networks programming. The settlement involves McDonald's being required to purchase airtime on Allen's programs.
From Wikipedia’s article on McDonald's legal cases, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3
Links
- WikipediaMcDonald's legal cases
- WikidataQ3253455
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
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- 2WikipediaMcDonald's legal cases on Wikipedia
- 3