Jan Polanik ordered bagels with butter at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Massachusetts and couldn’t believe it wasn’t actually butter. So in 2013, he sued two Dunkin’ franchise groups, which run more than 20 restaurants in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, claiming to represent all customers who “ordered a baked product, such as a bagel, with butter, but instead received margarine or butter substitute between June 24, 2012, and June 24, 2016.”

Amazingly he won–according to an attorney for one of the two franchise groups, Michael Marino, a settlement has now been reached. Marino didn’t reveal whether the company had paid up, but he did say that the 17 restaurants that he represents have made changes to how they manage the butter. Spokespeople for the other franchise group have not commented.

According to Dunkin’ Donuts, butter can’t be stored at room temperature for food safety reasons. It needs to be pretty soft to be spread smoothly onto the bagels, so the employees usually use margarine or some other butter substitute. But if the customer asks for it on the side, real butter comes in a package.

Dunkin’ Donuts #Settles Lawsuit for Putting Fake Butter on Bagels https://t.co/1Xpe5BQr6V by @FortuneMagazine pic.twitter.com/wkgaiUbWyt

— Thornton Law Firm (@ThorntonFirm) April 3, 2017

However, the employees normally don’t inform customers that they are receiving butter substitutes, which is what sparked a lawsuit from one particularly upset guest. Barbara Anthony, who leads the state Division of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, said in 2013, “This is an unfair practice and a misrepresentation–the consumer is in the dark.”

Polanik’s attorney Thomas Shapiro admitted that this is not a very pressing issue and that he thought it through a few times before deciding that bringing a lawsuit would actually make sense. “A lot of people prefer butter,” he explained. He added that the bigger picture is that companies shouldn’t promote that they’re selling one thing and then give the customer something else. “If somebody goes in and makes a point to order butter for the bagel… they don’t want margarine or some other kind of chemical substitute,” he said.

Butter lovers will now be able to get real butter on their Dunkin’ bagels, although details around the settlement or how the butter will be distributed have not yet been made public.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Good News for Bagel Lovers: Dunkin’ Donuts Settles Fake Butter Lawsuit appeared first on Law Street.

Donuts can be addictive–but they’re not drugs. That seems like common sense, but unfortunately an Orlando man named Daniel Rushing was arrested late last year because local police mistook dried Krispy Kreme donut icing in his car for meth. Now, Rushing is suing the city for $15,000 in damages due to that arrest, as well as the roadside drug test manufacturer that the police officer used.

Rushing was pulled over by Cpl. Shelby Riggs-Hopkins last December. He was pulled over for a legitimate reason–he failed to come to a complete stop after leaving a parking lot. He allowed the officer to search his car, and she found some donut frosting flakes. She described it in her report as “a rock like substance on the floor,” but Rushing insists he tried to tell her that it was just leftovers from his morning snack.

Rushing said:

Every other Wednesday, I get a glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme. (Police) found four little pieces of icing on the floorboard, which I’m kind of embarrassed about because I should have, you know, vacuumed the car better.

So, Riggs-Hopkins used a roadside test to test the substance, and alleges that it tested positive for meth. But Riggs-Hopkins arrested Rushing on a drug possession charge and he spent almost 10 hours in jail before he was able to post bail. And a few weeks later, when the police tested the supposed meth in a lab, it was shown that there were no illicit substances in the frosting pieces.

In addition to suing the city of Orlando–he alleges that Riggs-Hopkins should have recognized that the substance wasn’t meth, and was improperly trained to use the roadside test–Rushing is suing Safariland, the company that produced the drug tests. According to local news, “Rushing hopes to force more scrutiny over the field tests.”

Rushing’s concerns are fair, but that hasn’t stopped the case from garnering some national attention–after all, donuts may be addictive, but they’re certainly not illegal.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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