No tuna in Subway's tuna sandwich: lawsuit dismissed
CALIFORNIA - A high-profile lawsuit by a woman in the United States who claimed that Subway’s tuna products contain ingredients other than tuna has been dismissed.
The chain, which has nearly 37,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, and the plaintiff Nilima Amin have “come to agreement regarding dismissing the case with prejudice”, meaning it cannot be brought again, court records show.
Subway said it welcomed US District Judge Jon Tigar’s decision on Thursday to dismiss the case.
The Oakland, California-based judge will rule later on Subway’s request that Ms Amin’s lawyers be sanctioned for bringing a frivolous class action.
“Subway serves 100 per cent real, wild-caught tuna,” the chain said in a statement.
“The lawsuit and the plaintiff’s meritless claims, which have always lacked any supporting evidence, resulted in the spread of harmful misinformation and caused damage to Subway franchisees and the brand.”
Lawyers for Ms Amin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ms Amin claimed to have ordered Subway tuna products more than 100 times before suing in January 2021. She claimed that its tuna sandwiches, salads and wraps included other fish species, chicken, pork and cattle, or no tuna at all.
In May, she asked to end the lawsuit because she had become pregnant, and was experiencing “severe” morning sickness and “debilitating” conditions that left her unable to remain a plaintiff.
That prompted Subway to demand sanctions, saying Ms Amin’s proposed exit reflected her lawyers’ realisation it would not pay a “windfall settlement” in their “high-profile shakedown”.
Subway also faulted Ms Amin’s “ever-changing” theories to debunk its claim that its tuna products were “100 per cent tuna”.
In opposing sanctions, Ms Amin’s lawyers said she had a “good faith, non-frivolous basis based on testing and evidence that there was something amiss” with Subway tuna.
In July 2022, Judge Tigar let the case continue but rejected Ms Amin’s claim that tuna was the only acceptable ingredient, calling it a “fact of life” that ingredients such as mayonnaise were okay. - REUTERS
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