Judge rules Buffalo Wild Wings’ boneless wings label is not deceptive

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A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings, deciding that calling their product “boneless wings” isn’t likely to confuse most customers. The judge determined the name isn’t misleading.

Aimen Halim filed a lawsuit in 2023, believing that the restaurant’s boneless wings were simply chicken wings without the bones. However, the wings are actually made from breaded and fried chicken breast pieces covered in sauce.

Halim filed a lawsuit under Illinois’s consumer protection law, also alleging traditional fraud, unfair benefit, and a broken promise regarding a specific warranty. He aimed to represent a large group of customers across the country in this case.

Court says term is not deceptive

I was following that ‘boneless wings’ lawsuit, and the judge, John J. Tharp Jr., came out with a ruling on February 17, 2026. Basically, he said the guy suing did have a reason to sue because he claimed he lost money, but the judge didn’t think he made a good case that anyone would actually be fooled by the name ‘boneless wings.’ It just wasn’t convincing enough that regular people would think they were getting something different than they were.

Okay, so the judge basically said that anyone buying Buffalo Wild Wings’ boneless wings wouldn’t actually believe they were real wings made from deboned chicken. He called them a weird, processed… well, a ‘Franken-wing,’ which is a pretty funny way to put it! It’s like, nobody thinks they’re getting a normal chicken wing when they order those.

The court determined that people generally understand the phrase to be a playful description, not a promise that the product actually contains deboned wing meat. They likened it to labels like “chicken fingers,” pointing out that consumers know those aren’t made from real fingers.

The judge, referencing a recent Ohio Supreme Court case, explained that seeing ‘boneless wings’ on a menu wouldn’t lead a customer to believe the restaurant guaranteed there were no bones, any more than it would make them think the wings weren’t actually made from chicken. Similarly, someone ordering ‘chicken fingers’ understands they aren’t being served actual fingers.

Honestly, the judge made a good point. They brought up how much regular wings cost compared to boneless ones, and also reminded everyone that boneless wings have been around forever! It really made their argument that people were being tricked seem pretty weak, in my opinion.

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2026-02-18 19:23