An obese man has filed a lawsuit against hamburger hamlet White Castle, claiming the company discriminates against overweight people because their seats are not big enough. Martin Kessman claims he walked into his favorite restaurant in 2009 only to find that all the seating was stationary and could not accommodate someone of his size. He was embarrassed to wedge himself into a booth and claimed to suffer serious physical pain after banging his knee.
The next day, he penned a letter to the corporate office with his complaints. The company replied with "three condescending letters," coupons for free hamburgers and a promise to expand the size of the restaurant's seating. Now, two and half years later, nothing has happened and Kessman has filed a lawsuit.
Kessman says the seating violates the civil rights of fat people. “I just want to sit down like a normal person," he says. “Any subsequent trips to the store have been made by my wife -- I have been like an outcast.”
Does Kessman have a point with his beef or is this a frivolous suit?
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September 13, 2011
@ tubby tim
here here finally someone who is not rude
I did not know they classified it as an illness but I feel it is a complex issue that we do not fully understand yet
September 11, 2011
Really? 64-year-old, 290-pound White Castle fanatic Martin Kessman can't fit into a booth at White Castle. I did find a photo of this idiot in the Huffington Post. What a gut! He looks pregnant. And that's who's fault? Not White Castle's. We are each responsible for our own lives and our bodies. If I sat in a booth and was that uncomfortable, I'd really be motivated to do something about it...like lose the gut. It's so much easier for men to lose than women.
I'm a big, plus size, American woman I have Fibromyalgia and I fit in the booths yeah they are snug, Yeah they are really hard and they hurt me...but with FMS, what doesn't? I'm a grown up, I deal with it. I don['t whine and complain for peopel to change just for me. I actually have a disability, Martin, and I don't use it as a crutch. Your fat is not a disability and neither is pregnancy. Pregnancy is a temporary medical condition.
I am not so arrogant to even entertain the notion that a business would go to the great expense to change their fixtures just for me. If I do have a tight fit, I don't complain about it and call attention to myself. How embarrassing! What a jerk. He embarrasses us all!
You can't fit in the seat? That's why they make drive through windows and delivery or maybe he is going to be suing car companies too now?
Cutting down on the sliders and doing some sit ups may be the remedy!
STFU Martin! You make us all look bad you selfish, arrogant, moron!! In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, "What a Maroon!"
September 11, 2011
I think if they're going to sell this sort of stuff they need to have their restaurants set up for the kinds of bodies that this kind of food creates. Don't you think maybe they've got things set up this way so that people who walk in don't see big people eating in and maybe take it as a kind of object lesson? And to all you fat haters out there, why on earth are you defending White Castle of all places?
September 11, 2011
This absolutely ridiculous! You have to know that if you let yourself get so obese, there are things in society you WILL have to give up! it's not White castles job to make seats that accommodate you! They make seating for the general public. That goes for EVERY restaurant! Why should corporations and he public pay for YOUR bad choices! And of course sue. it disgusts me how many people think this is a source of income. Quit tying up the courts with your selfish "I'm entitled" attitude! You are obese. Either lose some weight or eat at home or in your car. Take responsibility! it NOT the publics job to accommodate your obeseness!!! And quit trying to get something for nothing-your knee got hurt- suck it up & quit being a pansy. Stop looking for a way to get easy money so you can stop working & support you & your obese family. the attitude and entitlement DISGUSTS me.
September 13, 2011
I just read that 66% of Americans are overweight/obese. In this economy people are eating out less. Many others are wanting to eat healthier than fast foods allow and so they are losing customers and will continue to do so.
this is not within the control of the corporations.
So why deliberately lose customers when you do have control on this potential loss of fat customers..likely some of their best customers.
It seems they need to understand that it makes good business sense to make the customers especially ones that eat and spend a lot more comfortable so they come back.
These tend to be people who put convenience and taste above health so I would think the company would have been happy someone alerted them to something many of their clientèle feel as many have encountered this problem especially at white castle which unlike many fast food companies do not have a few movable table and chairs
In addition, unmovable units at other fast food places have bigger ones than white castle which is one of the smallest seating units.
For every letter they get. they can be sure at least a thousand people feel the same but did not write..maybe just went elsewhere. In this case, I suspect it is many more as most obese people face his problem with the chairs. If they lose business form fat people they stand to have workers lose their jobs if the restaurants does not do enough business and has to close so this is not just about this guy.
It seems the person getting the letter was one of the many Americans with hatred or prejudice towards an obese person as he apparently wrote a condescending letter and thought a few dollars in food would appease this man and apparently ticked off the wrong person.
Then on top of it they lied even sending building plans which cannot be used against them in court lying not once but three times.
You can be sure other obese people will wait to see if he prevails maybe to do their own lawsuit or see if they want to go there anymore. If this happens and he wins, other fast foods places will be scared of the precedent set and will need to put in at least some freestanding tables and chairs so they do not get sued.
So this employee of white castle who wrote the letters potentially cost the industry more. Had they just send a few tables and chairs to that one restaurant all this could have been avoided. I would bet they could have found some for a few hundred dollars and this suit will cost them more than that as as long as this one restaurant was ok the man who took the time to actually tell them he was unhappy would have been happy and th problem solved. Now they might have to put them in all their restaurants (which would be good) They will also have negative publicity with this.
As I said if 2/3 rd of the people are overweight, it makes good sense to make these people comfortable and not have the table cutting into their stomachs which is not good for digestion or worst yet be embarrassed by not being able to fit at all.
Sure they obviously do not give a crap about their customers which you can tell as nothing on the menu is healthy but at least make it so the people will feel they want to come back and be sure everyone fits ok is cost effective in the long run so people in a competitive fast food industry do not lose their customers to more accommodating stores.
He did them a favor by possible spurring them to action instead of just never coming back like many would do and he was patient as he waited two years and wrote three times. The employee who answered the letter with plans etc that they never intended to do should be fired.
Corporations should pay because they are in the business of making money and as such should make better decisions if they do not want to potentially lose the business of 66% of the country to other restaurants.
I do not think he is doing this out of a sense of entitlement but bringing a legitimate issue to their attention., Once he got emotionally involved, he is now doing it for the principle in his mind and he is feeling he is speaking not just for himself but others.
September 13, 2011
I just read that 66% of Americans are overweight/obese. In this economy people are eating out less. Many others are wanting to eat healthier than fast foods allow and so they are losing customers.
It seems they need to understand that it makes good business sense to make the customers especially ones that eat and spend a lot more comfortable so they come back.
These tend to be people who put convenience and taste above health so I would think the company would have been happy someone alerted them to something many of their clientèle feel as many have encountered this problem especially at white castle which unlike many fast food companies do not have some movable table and chairs in addition to unmovable units and have bigger ones than white castle which is one of the smallest seating units.
For every letter they get they can be sure at least a thousand people feel the same but did not write..maybe just went elsewhere.
It seems the person getting the letter was one of the many Americans with hatred or prejudice towards an obese person as he apparently wrote a condescending letter and thought a few dollars in food would appease this man and apparently ticked off the wrong person.
Then on top of it they lied even sending building plans which cannot be used against then in court lying not once but three times.
You can be sure other obese people will wait to see if he prevails maybe to do their own lawsuit or see if they want to go there anymore. If this happens other fast foods places will be scared of the precedent and put in at least some freestanding tables and chairs.
So this White Castle employee potentially cost the industry in general more. Had they just send a few tables and chair to that one restaurant all this could have been avoided. They will also have negative publicity with this.
As I said if 2/3 rd of the people are overweight, it makes good sense to make these people comfortable and not have the table cutting into their stomachs which is not good for digestion or worst yet be embarrassed by not being able to fit at all.
Sure they obviously do not give a crap about their customers which you can tell as noting on the menu is healthy but at least make it so the people will feel they want to come back and be sure everyone fits ok
It is cost effective in the long run so people in a competitive fast food industry do not lose their customers to more accommodating stores. He did them a favor by possible spurring them to action instead of just never coming back like many would do and he was patient as he waited two years and wrote three times. The employee who answered the letter with plans etc that they never intended to do should be fired.
They could have spend a few hundred dollars and not had to possibly outfit any stores but this one as most people will not do what h e did. If he wins and they have to change, it will make a lot of people more comfortable--up 66% of us maybe.
I feel he had a right to do this as he tried to talk to them and they lied to him. I think when he got emotionally involved after feeling they were rude to him, he decided to do it for the principle and in there he also felt he was speaking for others who may not speak up and I think in a way he is. Standing for principle is different from feeling entitled.
September 13, 2011
I just read that 66% of Americans are overweight/obese. In this economy people are eating out less. Many others are wanting to eat healthier than fast foods allow and so they are losing customers. It seems they need to understand that it makes good business sense to make the customers especially ones that eat and spend a lot more comfortable so they come back.
These tend to be people who put convenience and taste above health so I would think the company would have been happy someone alerted them to something many of their clientèle feel as many have encountered this problem especially at white castle which unlike many fast food companies do not have some tables and chairs in addition to unmovable units and have bigger ones than white castle which is one of the smallest seating units.
For every letter they get they can be sure at least a thousand people feel the same but did not write..maybe just went elsewhere.
It seems the person getting the letter was one of the many Americans with hatred or prejudice towards an obese person as he apparently wrote a condescending letter and thought a few dollars in food would appease this man and apparently ticked off the wrong person. Then on top of it they lied even sending building plans which cannot be used against them in court lying not once but three times.
You can be sure other obese people will wait to see if he prevails maybe to do their own lawsuit or see if they want to go there anymore. If this happens other fast foods places will be scared of the precedent and put in at least some freestanding tables and chairs. So this employees cost the industry more. Had they just send a few tables and chairs to that one restaurant all this could have been avoided. They will also have negative publicity with this.
As I said if 2/3 rd of the people are overweight, it makes good sense to make these people comfortable and not have the table cutting into their stomachs which is not good for digestion or worst yet be embarrassed by not being able to fit at all.Sure they obviously do not give a crap about their customers which you can tell as nothing on the menu is healthy but at least make it so the people will feel they want to come back and be sure everyone fits ok is cost effective in the long run so people in a competitive fast food industry do not lose their customers to more accommodating stores. He did them a favor by possible spurring them to action instead of just never coming back like many would do and he was patient as he waited two years and wrote three times. The employee who answered the letter with plans etc that they never intended to do should be fired.
If they had spent a few hundred dollars sending a couple freestanding table and chairs there, that could have ended it. Now if he wins, they will have to do all their restaurants as well as other corporations. This idiot employee could wind up costing the company more. Had he not been condescending, the guy might have let it go but once he got angry and emotionally involved he could not. it is better this way for other overweight and tall people as if they had just done that store the guy would not have sued.
I think he did it for the principle and came to feel he was speaking for all those who feel the same but would never speak up or sue due to embarrassment. He spoke for them. This is different from entitlement.
September 11, 2011
Hope the judge is smart enough to throw the case out immediately.
September 11, 2011
Leave the seats as they are. If someone can't fit then it's a good thing for them, it means they're less likely to go back there and eat that terrible food. Only a VERY small percentage of obese people are that way because of medical issues (honestly, if it were genes or disease rather than food then we'd see overweight people in third world countries. But we don't. It's a food issue and it's a Western issue) so accomodating larger frames can work to encourage or make it seem "okay" for people to be obese. I know I sound horrible but as someone who has worked in disability I've seen a lot when it comes to obesity and it's made me quite cynical unfortunately.
September 13, 2011
Did you ever stop to wonder why this is an American problem?
Why is it that when people come here and eat the exact same foods they ate in their native country they gain weight and when Americans go to other countries they lose weight when they when they eat the same foods. This seems to indicate something is wrong with the food itself in America
Could the problem have something to do with the foods themselves and what is done here to them by the time they get to the store shelfs and restaurants.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) have been allowed in our country when many countries have banned them (but unfortunately they are cross polluting with wild and organic foods and now are reaching out of control levels). Even whole foods market can no longer guarantee the food they sell is not genetically modified anymore.
But these gm foods are unlabeled and entered our food supply in 1996. They have been thought to be THE cause of the obesity and diabetes epidemic and increase in children having these things. We had obese kids occasionally in the 50s but they did not have diabetes and plague and all that they do today.
Many children have eaten these GM foods unknowingly their entire growing years of life. They alter how insulin works and insulin is involved with both obesity and diabetes.
Fully 70% of the stores in the supermarket are genetically modified. In addition they are fed to animals contaminating our meats and animal products messing up most of the meat, chicken, fish and dairy/eggs.
Most of the processed foods contain them. Unless someone has eaten 100% organic for the last 15 years, we have all consumed these. People with a family, genetic predisposition are especially at risk.
Most people do not realize we are consuming these man made creations that have been altered from the food God designed for us by scientist tampering with the genes of what we eat and what we eat determines the level of health we have in large measure. When you go to a store and leave out most of the gm and unhealthy foods avoiding the animal products and foods that are altered and refined, not much is left safe to eat beyond the produce unless you are shopping at a health food store. Such foods lead to obesity and disease.
Fully 85% of the corn and 95% of the soy in this country is genetically modified (GM). They put high fructose gm corn syrup in nearly everything. They also put all kinds of GM soy derivatives in most of our foods.
Instead of hating fat people so much, maybe you should direct some of that anger towards Monsanto for bringing us GMO foods which also are linked to the infertility crisis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other things.
Or the fast food places that generally do not, despite the big demand for it, offer barely any healthy choices.
Or the fact that we make our food decisions on things like the food pyramid or myplate or the 4 food groups and half of the people on the panel making these decisions telling Americans what they should eat work for the giant food makers of refined foods etc. They have a financial conflict of interest. Despite being sued, they still did their less than optimal recommendations.
How about the schools that do not make decisions as to what our children eat based on their health but on the subsidies favoring the meat and dairy industry or the schools like the one I worked in where the school had no problems with 97% of the kids throwing away their untouched fruit or the way they schools have to survive by allowing the children to watch industry made programs full of food commercials for crappy foods. And cutting the gym classes first too.
How do you know for certain that most of the people are overweight due to themselves. I have just mentioned that the vast majority of our foods contain GMO which cause our insulin to go haywire.
How about medical drugs that cause weight gain. Much of America is on antidepressants which cause weight gain. I have a relative with schizophrenia that must take medical drugs and they definitely cause weight gain..the guy is constantly dieting and exercising a good bit dangerously going as low as 500 calories in his desperation to lose weight and winding up in the ER.
How about twin studies where each twin is adopted by diverse families and when they met one day they both weigh the same and that weight is one that is in their ancestral and genetic history.
How about studies done on rats made obese and then put back on a low calorie diet. No matter what they were fed or how low the calories, they kept going back to the same obese weight. It was called set point theory. And we see it when we look at yo-yo dieting where when a person loses their weight and then eat the calories that is supposed to maintain the weight of a normal sized women they gain weight on it. the more you lose weight the more you gain it in the end and less calories it takes to get fatter.
Studies have demonstrated that some people eat less than their thin counterparts and some gain weight on 500 calories a day.
This issue is more complex than just diet and exercise but most people are not smart enough to challenge the all it takes is eat less and exercise theory we have been taught from birth as maybe not being all that is involved with obesity.
That method may make people temporarily lose weight but it nearly always comes back plus more . On fact, only 3% of the people who lose weight keep it of
Also studies are beginning to show WHAT you eat is as important or more important than HOW MUCH you eat. Many countries who are thin eat more calories than countries that are much heavier, but they are eating more of a plant based diet of real and whole foods. Their governments are careful what is allowed in the foods. Look at the gourmet aisle of the store. Many of these foods have very little chemicals in them and tend to be more natural.
Insulin is involved first in weight gain and then in diabetes and several doctors now believe that it is the fat in our diet gumming up the lock and making the insulin receptors resistant to insulin so it cannot get in the cells. When a person eats a cheeseburger, fries and milkshake and they take out a vial of blood and put it in a test tube, a layer of fat about an inch thick rises to the top and that is gumming up getting the insulin into the cells to give the body energy. Animal fat is worst but so is plant fats.
We need to move to a plant based diet that is lower in fat and stop eating dairy products with growth hormones made for a 200 pound animals that is not us and eat mainly organic and whole unrefined foods to have a shot at reversing this epidemic.
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