The case was originally filed on behalf of four overweight teenagers from The Bronx in New York, who blamed McDonald's for misleading them about the dangers of their products and for not displaying nutritional information clearly enough.
McDonald's responded angrily to the suit, saying that it was unfair, and claiming that "diet is determined by multiple decisions that each person makes every day about what, how often and how much to eat. One type or source of food, much less a particular restaurant, can not determine a person's overall diet."
Now US district judge Robert Sweet has agreed with McDonald's, but gave the plaintiffs leave to refile an amended case.
McDonald's welcomed the decision, describing the case as "frivolous". In a statement, it said: "We trusted the court to use its common sense to dismiss this claim. That's exactly what the judge has done. Common sense has prevailed."
However, the good news has been overtaken by McDonald's reporting its first-ever quarterly loss this morning. McDonald's reported a net loss of $343.8m (拢215.4m), or 27 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $271.9m, or 21 cents, for the same period last year.
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