A federal judge has ruled that media mogul Byron Allen’s $10 billion racial discrimination lawsuit against McDonald’s will proceed to trial.
The case, filed in 2021, alleges that the fast-food giant has engaged in racial stereotyping by systematically excluding Black-owned media from its advertising strategy.
United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin deemed the case worthy of moving forward. While noting that the decision was a “close call,” Olguin says that Allen’s claims about McDonald’s discriminatory practices deserved to be evaluated by a jury.
“At a minimum, this is the type of case where the trial court is permitted, in its discretion, to deny even a well-supported motion for summary judgment, if it believes the case will benefit from a full hearing,” the judge stated.
Allen, who is the founder of Entertainment Studios and owner of The Weather Channel, contends that McDonald’s has maintained a practice of marginalizing Black-owned media outlets by allocating them a disproportionately small share of its advertising budget.
In a statement, Allen highlighted what he described as “overwhelming evidence” of McDonald’s discriminatory practices, including previous lawsuits filed by Black executives, franchisees, and even the company’s former global head of security.
“It is time for the McDonald’s Board of Directors, stockholders, and civil rights organizations nationwide to call for the resignation of CEO Chris Kempczinski, who was caught sending racist text messages about Black and Hispanic people,” Allen asserted.
In its defense, McDonald’s denied the allegations and characterized the lawsuit as baseless.
“We are prepared to show that this case is utterly baseless. McDonald’s invested in media properties that aligned with the company’s business strategy and, like any other rational business, declined to invest in those that had low ratings or failed to reach the company’s target audiences,” the company said in a statement.
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