Byron Allen will appeal judge’s decision in $100 million fraud case against McDonald’s

Byron Allen plans to appeal after a Los Angeles judge dismissed his $100 million lawsuit against McDonald’s for failing to extend promoting spending on black-owned media.

Allen is the founder, president and CEO of Allen Media Group, which owns Grio and other properties. In a February 2 ruling, Judge Mel Red Recana of the Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit, which named AMG’s The Weather Group LLC because the plaintiff. A judge ruled that McDonald’s still has the remaining of 2024 to make good on its promise to extend promoting spending at Black-owned businesses. The court also found that if the case went to trial, AMG would likely lose the case.

In May 2021, McDonald’s announced a four-year plan to extend spending on Black-owned businesses from 2 percent to five percent of national ad purchases. According to a. Allen Media Group presented a proposal for promoting spending of $30 million, which McDonald’s rejected declaration in accordance with AMG Chief Revenue Officer Darren Galatt.

Allen’s lawsuit filed on May 4, 2023, alleged that the fast food giant agreed to spend only a small a part of the proposed amount. AMG accused the chain of never desiring to fulfill its promise, as an alternative using the pledge as a marketing plan to extend sales and avoid bad publicity.

“We disagree with this decision,” Allen’s attorney, Louis “Skip” Miller, told Deadline statement. “The California Legislature passed Civil Code (Section) 1711, prohibiting companies from making false statements to the public. This lawsuit seeks to uphold that right. We intend to appeal this decision.”

McDonald’s praised the judge’s decision in a press release, saying, “The court dealt Mr. Allen a crushing blow by dismissing the case for good, ruling that he had failed to show that his claims had even ‘minimal merit’ and that the loss required Mr. Allen to pay McDonald’s legal fees.”

Miller, Allen’s attorney, told Deadline there’s a separate federal lawsuit pending against the Golden Arches remains to be in progress. This $10 billion lawsuit claims that McDonald’s engages in racial stereotyping by constructing its promoting levels based on race.

Tuesday’s decision “in no way affects Allen Media’s pending federal court lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in advertising contracts,” Miller explained in a press release to Deadline. “This lawsuit against McDonald’s is alive and well – and heading to trial.”