Taco Bell decided the best form of action would be to use social media to set
Taco Bell decided the best form of action would be to use social media to set
Facts: In 1998, the investigative reporting husband and wife team, Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, filed suit against their employer New World Communications of Tampa, Inc. (WVTV), a subsidiary of Fox TV, stating they violated the Florida’s whistleblower statues. They argued that WVTV terminated their employment under the grounds of retaliation after they refused to suppress and distort the contents of a story regarding the controversial Bovine Growth Hormone in Florida’s cattle. They also brought forth additional claims of declaratory relief and breach of contract. After a four week jury trial they found against Wilson and all of his claims. Akre dropped allegations concerning declaratory relief and the court allowed the whistle-blower claims to be moved forward. Akre won a monetary award from the jury of $425,000 based on the retaliation charges established by the whistle-blower statue.…
Unfortunately, a corporation can be charged and convicted of any number of crimes. If the employees or officers within a corporation violate the law on behalf of the corporation and within the scope of their employment, the corporate entity would be open to criminal charges. Corporations can be convicted of criminal wrongdoing in the same manner individuals are charged and convicted. In addition, individuals within the corporation can be charged as well. Commonly, when a corporation is charged, many of the top officers will be charged along with the corporation as an entity.…
Chipotle capitalizes on this by word of mouth marketing. Chipotle released “The Scarecrow” video marketing campaign and associated mobile game targeting GMO companies. In less than two weeks after release, the video had attracted 3.1 million views on YouTube, 2,000 likes and more than 4,000 comments. This truly exhibits the strength of Chipotle’s viral marketing (Handley, 2013). Other strengths include the use of all-natural ingredients, higher salaries for managers and employees, and online ordering with delivery in certain areas. Chipotle certainly has areas of weakness in their menu options, authentic Mexican food, advertising, and availability of sustainable products. See exhibit 1 for the full SWOT…
A.1. steak sauce is the leader in the steak sauce industry and is also one of Kraft Foods premiere brand offerings. Developed in 1830, the product has a long history and extremely high brand awareness with a dollar share of more than 50%. Kraft Foods has focused both time and resources on the A.1. line, spending $10 million on advertising and $5 million on consumer promotion. This steak sauce giant has had little competition, substantial sales, and excellent profit margins until now. Lawry’s, a company who has a strong position in the market of seasonings and marinades, has decided to launch a new steak sauce which has similar characteristics to A.1 in taste but is lower in price. The company has planned to put a heavy amount of marketing behind its new steak sauce by hosting a live interactive cooking show that will be reaching 17 popular fairs and festivals across the nation featuring the Lawry’s marinades and spice blend and the NEW Lawry’s steak sauce. Lawry’s is also spending millions in advertising concentrated in the months of May, June, and July, the prime grilling season. This creates a problem for A.1 because the holiday weekends of Memorial Day and Fourth of July earns 10% of annual revenue. The launch of Lawry’s steak sauce came at a peak time for A.1. Sales and the company cannot afford the lose profits for the sales of the competition during the holiday weekend. The question that A.1. faces is how should the company react to the launch of Lawry’s steak…
SEATTLE -- In a verdict that could have sweeping consequences for employers and cost Taco Bell Corp. millions of dollars, a jury here found the Mexican fast-food chain guilty of intentionally cheating hourly employees out of wages by having them work "off the clock," among other things.…
A.1. Steak Sauce is one of the premier brands in the Kraft Foods portfolio, there is little competition, high sales and excellent margins (Kerin & Peterson, 2010). Currently, their closest competitor is Heinz 57 but they are not seen as a direct competitor because they market their sauce as being versatile for all meats. Lawry’s is introducing a steak sauce on April 1, just in time for summer grilling season. They plan on offering a 2 for $5 promotional price. Executives at A.1. need to decide what kind of marketing strategy to use to fight back against Lawry’s.…
The defendants, upon being hired by Russell, entered into contracts which contained three relevant covenants in this case; not to compete with the plaintiffs, not to solicit the plaintiff’ customers, and not to disclose the plaintiffs’ confidential information. The defendants, for many alleged reasons, separated themselves from the plaintiff and began working for a competitor, Red Bull New York, between August and November 2007. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants were contradiction the covenants mentioned above because of his immediate drop in customers since the defendants left. The defendants claim that all of the information can be readily found on the internet and that they had not disclosed any confidential information. If the defendants were to be found guilty then the consequences would be an oppressive and unfair scenario. Therefore, the motion for preliminary injunction was denied in favor of the defendants.…
Updated information according to the Huffington Post (2011) on Taco Bells lawsuit included a suit filed in California federal court that alleged that the meat used in Taco Bell contained binders and extenders. It went on to say that it does not meet requirements to use beef labeling set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another issue filed by the law firm alleged that the meat only contained thirty-five percent beef during an analysis of the product. Taco Bell quickly launched into defense mode.…
This case was brought upon by an older lady by the name Stella Liebeck, who purchased a 49 cent cup of coffee at the New Mexico franchise. She purchased it through the drive-thru and while her grand son drove, she opened the lid while the cup was between legs to add sugar and cream. The opening of the lid was that action that caused as serious problem for McDonald's, by doing so she spilled coffee on her lap. Even though coffee is know to be hot this one was a little more than hot, Mrs. Liebeck endured third degree burns form it. Since the coffee was directly on her lap the burns where in highly sensitive areas of her body. Her burns were so sever that the covered six percent of her body, and hospitalized her for eight days. She contacted McDonald's with intend to collect and settle for $20,000, but McDonalds refused, which drove to file in court.…
In early internet years, Jimmy John’s lacked experience with this competent. Adapting and improving, Jimmy Johns now includes the use of this device with Twitter and instagram involvement. The company’s tweets may be characterized as humorous and friendly with the practice of developing memes and playing off current societal trends. On Hoot Suite Blog, Jimmy John’s was named to be a part of the top 4 brands making the most of memes in 2016 (Parker). The team aims to market to the teen/young adult generation, the primary twitter users. Jimmy John’s shifts their brand from just a sandwich chain to crafting humor and personality into the mix, adhering to customer engagement. On instagram, the company posts an artistic blend of photo advertising and video commercials. Jimmy Johns can be seen taking advantage of hashtags and community glorified events such as the post “Love Hugs Pups Subs #NationalPetDay” (@jimmyjohns 4/11/17). In Jimmy John’s instagram video of the Chicago Black Hawks, Jimmy John’s is seen using sponsoring brands to market and expose their content to outside audiences and groups. There is a lack of brand advocates on other social networking…
In the society we live in, it has become increasingly popular and more common to sue. Whether we see it in the media, talk about it amongst ourselves, or are actually the ones doing the suing, (or being sued) we deal with lawsuits every day. Now, we've all heard the story about the grandmother who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonald's for nearly $2.9 million, or the man who sued Winnebago and won $1.75 million after crashing his motor home off the freeway. But few of us ever question what these and all the other outrageous rewards for senseless lawsuits do to the economy. Have we ever wondered if they have a negative effect? Have we asked ourselves how they impact us, as consumers? Have we asked how they impact American…
Although this article was published in 1992, it provided me with an abundance of facts for the history of litigation and how it exploded into such a large industry…
In the past several years, the focus surrounding tort law has grown significantly. Why all the attention? Most people say it is because of the increase insurance liability and the recent up rise in ridiculous lawsuits. One of the most recognizable suits out there is the infamous “McDonald’s Hot Coffee” Lawsuit. This well known lawsuit sparked controversy and propelled tort law into the public eye. The term tort is defined as “Damage, injury, or a wrongful act done willfully, negligently, or in circumstances involving strict liability, but not involving breach of contract, for which a civil suit can be brought” (thefreedictionary.com). While there has been plenty of attention regarding tort law, there has been just as much attention focused on tort reform. “Tort reform is a movement to reshape the way consumers can access the courts by restricting their right to sue and limiting the awards they could receive” (Crane).…
The lawsuit ended with Stella Liebeck’s injuries meriting an award of $200,000 compensatory damages; however that award was reduced proportionately to $160,000. The jury also awarded Ms. Liebeck $2.7 million in punitive damages, but because it was allegedly a fraudulent lawsuit, it was reduced by the trial court to $480,000 and stated that McDonald’s engaged in “willful, reckless, malicious, or wanton conduct”. Although this was a reasonable lawsuit, it was occurring when tort reform was gaining speed in the public eye, and was used in different means in the communities to help grow the idea of frivolous lawsuits.…
The following tort cases, Pearson v. Chung and Liebeck v. McDonalds, have been a pinnacle “poster child” for tort reform in the United States. In 2002, frivolous lawsuits cost taxpayers over $233 billion (Insideprison.com, 2006). What is considered a frivolous lawsuit? It is when an attorney files a suit that they are aware is without merit, lacking legal arguments, and no basis for the claims. (USLegal.com, 2010) Each of these cases, at first glance, presents like a frivolous lawsuit, but after delving into the facts, new appreciation is given to our current legal system. Whether one agrees with the verdict or not, one does come away knowledgeable, as a critical thinker, in deciding the merits of each case based on the facts and evidence presented in each case, and not by the media hype.…