Unhappy Customers Sue Subway Over One Inch

Some so-called "footlong" subs only measure 11 inches.

In this week's episode of "people who have too much time and money on their hands," two men from New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against Subway, claiming that the sandwich shop's "footlong" sandwiches are only 11 inches and thus, the men are being ripped off.

How long was your last Subway footlong?

The lawsuit is the first to attack the fast-food restaurant after last week's viral photo of an 11-inch sub made its rounds. The company issued a statement at the time, saying that the sandwich length can vary depending on how workers bake the break. Since bread contains yeast, it needs time to rise and puff up, or proof, and if the workers allow the bread to proof for a longer or shorter period of time, the finished product could be a different size.

Stephen DeNittis, the lawyer representing the two men, said the lawsuit is about "holding companies to deliver what they've promised.

The company pointed to corporate baking standards, but a lot of things can affect how bread rises—humidity, how much flour is used in a batch of dough, air temperature, and the quality of the yeast will all contribute to how much a chunk of bread dough expands during its proofing period. If the company goes by a certain time to let dough rise, any one of those factors could cause the bread to come up short.

Stephen DeNittis, the lawyer for the men, says he has had sandwiches from 17 different shops measured and all of them were short.  He says the case is about "holding companies to deliver what they've promised," and is asking for compensatory damages for the men and a change in Subway's bread-making practices. He notes that they should advertise the truth, pointing out that even McDonald's "quarter-pounders" are the weight advertised, just that the meat is weighed before cooking.

Subway hasn't commented on the matter.

Published: January 27th, 2013
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