Mozzarella Stick Lawsuit Can Proceed In Illinois, Judge Says

ILLINOIS — Is a mozzarella stick still a mozzarella stick without the mozzarella? A federal court will continue to consider this question at the direction of a judge in Illinois.

Judge Robert Dow Jr. partially granted and partially denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against TGI Friday’s Inc. and Inventure Goods Inc. by an Illinois woman who purchased TGI Friday’s Mozzarella Stick Snacks only to learn they did not contain mozzarella.

Dow, of the Northern District of Illinois, handed down his order regarding the case Nov. 28. He granted a request to dismiss TGI Friday’s as a defendant on the grounds that the company’s role in connection to the product was as a trademark licensor, and therefore it is not liable for the actions of the manufacturer.

In other regards, the motion to dismiss was denied, according to the order.

Amy Joseph brought the lawsuit in 2021 after she bought a six-pack of the snack on Amazon, believing they contained mozzarella, the order said. She is alleging violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act as well as consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Joseph is requesting restitution and relief, seeking to represent everyone in the U.S. and specifically in Illinois who purchased the snacks, according to the order.

The snacks are sold in a bag labeled “Mozzarella Sticks Snacks,” yet they contain only cheddar, the order said.

“If a product does not contain mozzarella cheese, why market it under the TGIF logo, which has a strong correlation to the hot appetizer mozzarella sticks, which presumably contain some quantity of mozzarella cheese?” Dow asked in the order.

The defendants argued that the snacks were a “shelf-stable, crunchy snack product,” that they did not resemble hot mozzarella sticks, and that there was no claim that the snacks contained mozzarella cheese specifically on the text or visuals of the packaging, according to the order.

Dow was not swayed, noting in the order the name of the snacks and that the packaging included an image of mozzarella sticks.

The case has since been reassigned to Judge Elaine Bucklo, with a settlement conference set for Feb. 17, court records said.