Judge throws out Byron Allen's $10 billion media discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's

A judge has thrown out Byron Allen's $10 billion lawsuit against McDonald’s, saying the plaintiffs failed to present enough evidence to prove allegations that the restaurant chain had discriminated against Black-owned media groups through “a pattern of racial stereotyping and refusals to contract.” Judge Fernando M. Olguin of U.S. District Court in the Central District of California did however allow for the plaintiffs to amend their complaint before Dec. 10. Skip Miller, a partner at Miller Barondess, LLP, attorneys for plaintiffs Entertainment Studios and Weather Group, in an email said the group would add greater detail to its complaint, “and when we do so, we firmly believe that the case will go forward.” The suit, which was filed in May, contended that McDonald’s had discriminated against African American-owned media companies, spending only a fraction of its advertising budget with Black-owned companies despite deriving some 40% of its business from Black customers. Entertainment Studios and Weather Group are headed by Allen, the CEO of Allen Media Group, who is an outspoken critic of McDonald's. In November, Allen publicly called on McDonald's board of directors to fire CEO Chris Kempczinski following the publication of text remarks he made to Chicago's mayor interpreted as putting some blame on parents for the shooting deaths of two children, including one slain while in a car in the drive-thru of a Chicago McDonald’s restaurant. Kempczinski has since apologized for those remarks. Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. The suit contended that McDonald’s had refused to advertise on the company’s Weather Channel network since Allen acquired it in 2018 and that the world's largest restaurant chain had pigeonholed it as an outlet that only reached Black audiences, thereby relegating it to compete for a smaller percentage of its total advertising spend. Olguin, in his decision, noted that plaintiffs produced insufficient evidence to back up those claims. “This case is about revenue, not race, and was dismissed because plaintiffs have provided absolutely no factual basis for their claims,” Loretta Lynch, counsel to McDonald’s, said in a statement. “Should plaintiffs amend their complaint for a second time, we will be ready to assess the new claims and move again as we believe there is no evidence supporting this meritless case.” The suit was filed only hours after McDonald’s had pledged to more than double its spend with minority-owned media companies, saying it would increase the percent of its national advertising spend with such companies from 4% to 10% by 2024. Spending with Black-owned properties was expected to increase from 2% to 5% over the same period. In addition to the media spending initiative, McDonald’s this year announced a series of diversity, equity and inclusion goals including aligning executive bonuses with goals to increase women and underrepresented groups in leadership roles. And in July, McDonald’s said it would increase purchases with diverse-owned suppliers by nearly 10% by 2025.

Judge throws out Byron Allen's $10 billion media discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's

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