On February 17, 2026, Alston & Bird secured a major victory for Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. and its parent Inspire Brands in a national putative class action alleging that calling the restaurant's seasoned and sauced fried chicken nuggets “boneless wings”—which are made from 100% breast meat—was false and misleading.
Judge John J. Tharp Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois rejected the plaintiff's claims and granted Buffalo Wild Wings’ motion to dismiss, noting the complaint “has no meat on its bones” and does not plausibly allege that reasonable consumers would think boneless wings would consist of deboned chicken wings.
The case stems from 2023, when the plaintiff bought boneless wings from a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant but was allegedly confused, believing them to be chicken wings with the bones removed.
The Alston & Bird team representing Buffalo Wild Wings includes partner Jason Rosenberg and senior associate Sarah Parker (Intellectual Property Litigation); and partners Alan Pryor and Drew Phillips (Food & Beverage).