Slate's Bizbox
recycled: Previously published Slate articles made new.

Does This Lawsuit Make Me Look Fat?Are french fries the new Marlboros?


Posted Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005, at 2:57 PM ET

On Tuesday, a New York appellate court re-opened the door to parts of a 2002 lawsuit against McDonald's, blaming the fast food chain for making Americans fat. The decision signals the start of a full discovery and disclosure period. In 2003, Dahlia Lithwick looked at the wave of lawsuits inspired by improbable victories over Big Tobacco and found the Big Food plaintiffs relied too heavily on dubious claims of causality and wacky conspiracy theories to stand a legitimate chance of vindication. This week's appeals court decision suggests the plaintiffs may have shown enough of a link between big fat and Big Food to prevail.

Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Assessing Sarah Palin
| Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, John Podesta and others weigh in.
Colbert King: She's No HillaryEditorial: Is She Ready for This?
PLUS » PostPartisan: Quick Takes from Opinions