Judge axes suit alleging fowl play by news agency

Subway’s $210 million defamation lawsuit against a news report claiming its chicken strips contained less than 50% of the fowl’s DNA was not a bird in the hand for the sandwich chain. A judge dismissed the complaint last week, according to news site VICE.com.

In 2017, an investigative report by the CBC tested the DNA of chicken from fast food chains, finding that most had close to 90% chicken DNA in the product, but that chicken from Subway, a subsidiary of Milford, Connecticut-based Doctor’s Associates Inc., had just 50% chicken DNA, with the rest consistent with soy protein, leading the chain to file suit against the news agency, according to VICE. 

The Ontario Superior Court in Guelph axed the suit on the grounds that the CBC’s report was protected by the anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation statute. 

Hope the chain didn’t count its chickens — or defamation dollars — before they hatched.