Two New Jersey men are suing Subway, claiming the sandwich chain's famous "Footlong" subs are not 12 inches and hoping the suit gets class-action status.
John Farley and Charles Noah Pendrack filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Mount Holly Superior Court under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, arguing that the trademarked $5 foot-long sub consistently measured between 5 and 8.3 percent shorter than advertised, according to
CBS News.
Farley and Pendrack are pushing for class-action status and want to include all New Jersey residents who bought the sandwiches since Jan. 22, 2007. That number could exceed 50,000 residents, the Burlington County Times said. DeNittis said he is preparing to file a similar suit in Pennsylvania state court.
The lawsuit comes a week after a man posted a photo to Subway's Facebook page of his Footlong next to a tape measure, showing his sandwich was 11 inches long. The post went viral and inspired dozens of short-changed patrons to post their own sandwich photos.
Stephen DeNittis, the attorney who filed the suit, told CBS affiliate WCBS 880 that he has measured sandwiches from 17 area shops and not one of them was 12 inches. Subway should either ensure their sandwiches are a foot long or stop advertising them as such, DeNittis said.
"The sandwiches are about an inch shorter than they should be. It's about 45 cents per sandwich that people are being short-changed," DeNittis said. "The case is about holding companies to deliver what they’ve promised."
The suit seeks compensatory damages from the company and a change in its practices.
Last week, the sandwich chain issued a statement in response to customers' outrage on Facebook and stories in the media about Footlongs being falsely advertised.
The company said the length of the sandwich can vary if individual franchises do not bake the bread exactly to corporate standards.
Subway, the world's largest fast-food chain, has more than 38,600 franchises.
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