Cheesburger Law

The official name for the "Cheeseburger Bill," is H.R. 339, the "Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act." On March 10, 2004 the bill was passed by the majority or 276 representatives voting for the bill. 139 representatives voted against it.

The law is constitutional because it does not go against anything written in the Constitution. It seems that the only way to decide this case would be by statutes. Whatever a person eats to harm their own body is not the food providers fault. The consumer should be responsible enough to understand if the food they are eating healthy or not. If the law wasn't passed it would just give consumers a way to get money to eat fast food.

At this point, it seems as if Illinois and Pennsylvania have not passed a bill similar to the "Cheeseburger Bill." According to some highly accredited news agencies, Illinois and Pennsylvania are currently considering putting such a bill in place to cover them from such lawsuits.

Ashley Pelman v. McDonald's Corp. is a case in which Ashley Pelman is suing McDonald's Corp. for failing to disclose clearly but rather conspicuously the health effects of eating McDonald's food. The plaintiff further argued that McDonald's should be held responsible for her obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and high cholesterol. Judge Sweet dismissed the entire case for many reasons. After further reviewing this case, I would advise that Dr. Feelgood's patient does not attempt a lawsuit towards McDonald's for this matter. If his case turns out to be anything like Ashley Pelamn's case, it will be thrown out.

Cites

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/10/health/main605157.shtml

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040311/NEWS09/103110170/-1/NEWS

http://news.corportae.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/mcdonalds/plmnmcd12203opn.pdf

http://money.cnn.com/2003/01/22/news/companies/mcdonalds