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Subway

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Subway
Basic information
Founded 1965-08-28
Legal Structure Private
Industry Food
Also known as
Official website https://www.subway.com/en-us

Founded in 1965, Subway IP LLC is an American food restaurant specializing in submarine sandwiches with 20,127 locations in the United States.

Consumer-impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

  • User Freedom
  • User Privacy
  • Business Model
  • Market Control

Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Subway category.

Hepatitis found in Subway

In September 1999, an increasing number of hepatitis-A cases began surfacing around individuals located in Northeast Seattle and Snohomish County Washington, resulting in health officials conducting an survey on infected individuals that resulted in 18 of 21 reported gaining Hepatitis-A at a Subway location by November 5. Later on, it was confirmed that 6 more individuals gained hepatitis-A after eating at two Subway locations. It is estimated that 40 people had became ill because of the outbreak.[1] This resulted in a lawsuit after a 8 year old went to the hospital to get a liver implant after catching Hepatitis-A, eventually reaching a $10 million settlement.[2]

Subway's Footlong Lawsuit for plantiff showcasing a footlong being 10 inches
Subway's Footlong Lawsuit product

Footlong aren't really a foot long

In 2013, several customers filed lawsuits against Subway product "Footlong" for being less than 12 inches, claiming they were believed to bought a product that 12 inches in length as advertised. Subway initially responded by saying the Footlong sandwich is only a name, not an measurement as its a creative license. Along with claims of the Footlong sandwich allegedly not being 12 inches, the plaintiffs also claims subways 6 inch subs are shorter than advertised due to employees cutting the Footlong in half.[3]

The lawsuit reached a settlement in 2015, compensating customers who ordered between January 1, 2003 through October 2 2015 $500, and gave the plaintiffs $520,000 for attorney fees.[4][5]

Product not completely tuna

Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin filed a lawsuit against Subway in January 21, 2021 over the company's deceptive advertising practices regarding and a lab study conducted by Paul Barber showcasing Subways tuna being a mix of chicken, cattle, and pork. The plaintiffs claimed they were deceived into buying food items that lacked tuna.[6] On June 7, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, alleging the company "misrepresents its products as %100 tuna". The case was dismissed with leave to amend on October 7, 2021, with the judge citing failure to" identify the specific representation that Subway made about the tuna".[7][8][9]

The plaintiffs then made a second amended complaint, alleging subway tuna products are a mix of various animal and fish products due to the products lacking any trace of tuna DNA.[8] Subway responded by claiming the tests was inaccurate, claiming it can come from cross contamination with other ingredients. The judge dismissed the case without prejudice on July 8, 2022, claiming a lack of evidence.[10]

A spokesperson from subway responded to the dismissal, citing;

“The second complaint was rightfully dismissed by a federal judge. Our legal team has reviewed the plaintiffs’ newly amended complaint and has filed a second motion to dismiss this reckless and improper lawsuit. The fact remains that Subway tuna is real and strictly regulated by the FDA in the U.S. and other government entities around the world"

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111270816/subway-tuna-lawsuit

https://www.fox13news.com/news/judge-subway-can-be-sued-tuna-claim

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/judge-rules-subway-can-sued-claims-tuna-sandwiches-contain-fish-specie-rcna37707

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/subway-tuna-lawsuit-dismissed/

Credit Card Information Showing on Customers Receipts

Estimated around June 3 2016, Shane Flaum purchased a turkey salad from Subway, receiving an receipt that showcased the expiration date and last 4 digits of his debit card number. A few days later, Shane Flaum filed a lawsuit against Subway for violating the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, seeking $1000 in damages for each illegal receipt over the last two years that covers more than five digits of individuals credit/debit card or expiration dates.[11][12] On March 21, 2017, Subway reached a $30.9 million settlement compensating customers credit/debit card orders between January 1, 2016 and March 23, 2017, varying up to $52.92 per customer.[13]

Unsolicited Text History

In June 2016, David Rahmany and Yehuda Rahmany filed a lawsuit against T-mobile and Subway after receiving a text message from T-mobile that reads; ""This T-Mobile Tuesday, Score a free 6 Oven Roasted Chicken sub at Subway, just for being w/ T-Mobile. Ltd supply. Get app for details: http://t-mo.co/ " The plaintiffs claimed it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, allegedly using an autodialer to spam T-mobile users an Subway 6-inch Oven Roasted Chicken sub advertisement.[14] On September 8, the plaintiffs dropped their claims against T-mobile, however the motive remains unknown.[15][16] The case is still in progress as of March 2026.

in April 2019, subway was sued by Marina Soliman for repeatedly sending promotional advertisements to customers regardless if they responded to opt-out with "stop". She claimed that through use of an automatic dialing system containing a list of phone numbers from customers, it constitutes as a violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.[17] The case was dismissed on July 18, 2022, claiming the Telephone Consumer Protection Act applies to randomly or sequentially generated phone numbers systems and "artificial or prerecorded voices" doesn't apply to text messages.[18]

In 2019, Malka Fishman sued Subway and T-mobile for allegedly sending messages using automatic telephone dialing system from T-Mobile that contains Subway/T-Mobile promotional advertising. She claims she gave consent to receiving text messages from T-Mobile regarding its wireless telephone services, however she gave the company no consent towards receiving advertisement messages from subway. The court granted motion to denied several dismissals;[19][20]

  • Subway is found liable for sending messages via Automatic telephone dialing system
  • T-Mobile was found to have an relationship with Subway
  • Declared that Subway didn't send the messages, instead it was handled by T-mobile

As of March 2026, the case is still ongoing.

Subway Steak & Cheese Advertisement


In 2021, Ryan Turizo filed a lawsuit against Subway for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Florida Telephone Solicitation Act by sending text messages to customers without given consent via an computer automotive system. [21][22]The case is still ongoing as of March.

Giving less meat than advertised to customers

On October 28, 2024, Anna Tollison filed a lawsuit against Subway for engaging in deceptive marketing practices that advertised the product Steak & Cheese sandwich containing 200% more meat than customers received.[23][24] As of March 2026, the lawsuit is still ongoing.

File:Subway actual Steak & Cheese Received.png
Subway actual Steak & Cheese Received

Coupon ineligibility

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

Main article: Subway footlong pass ineligibility

Despite Subway corporate requiring all franchisees to accept coupons, many of the independent stores deny the use through the Subway app and in-store.

Products

This is a list of the company's product lines with articles on this wiki.


Add your text below this box. Once this section is complete, delete this box by clicking on it and pressing backspace.


See also

References

  1. Marler, Bill (7 March 2010). "Subway hit with another foodborne illness outbreak – this time bacteria, not viral". Marler Clark. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Subway settles hepatitis suit for $10 million". Dessert News. 3 July 2001. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN" (PDF). cch.com. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Luperon, Alberto (19 February 2026). "Subway Settles Lawsuit Claiming 'Footlongs' Were Too Short". Law&Crime. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Bucher, Anne (19 October 2015). "Subway Footlong Sandwich Class Action Settlement". Top Class Action. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Rizzi, Corrado (19 February 2021). "Subway 'Tuna' Products Contain No Real Tuna Whatsoever, Class Action Claims [UPDATE]". ClassAction. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. Edwards, Jessy (14 August 2023). "Judge dismisses 100% tuna class action against Subway". Top Class Action. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Firstman, AJ (7 August 2023). "Subway Tuna Lawsuit Gets Canned". Findlaw. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Wile, Rob (11 July 2022). "Judge rules Subway can be sued over claims that its tuna sandwiches contain other fish species or animal products". NBC News. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA" (PDF). Courthouse News. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. Rizzi, Corrado (14 November 2016). "Purchase of Turkey Salad Leads to FACTA Class Action Against Subway". ClassAction. Retrieved 8 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. Dugan, James; Bower, Elizabeth; Alvarez, Daniel (23 March 2017). "Subway Settles FACTA Class Action Lawsuit for Record-Breaking $30.9 Million in Bellwether for High-Stakes Data Privacy Litigation" (PDF). Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. Sortor, Emily (31 May 2019). "Subway Credit Card Receipts Settlement Checks Mailed". Top Class Action. Retrieved 12 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON" (PDF). CourtListener. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Milano, Ashley (5 October 2016). "Subway, T-Mobile Face Text Message Class Action Lawsuit". Top Class Action. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. "NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL OF DEFENDANT T-MOBILE USA, INC. PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1)(A) WITHOUT PREJUDICE" (PDF). CourtListener. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. Smith, Anna (19 July 2022). "Subway class action over unsolicited spam texts dismissed". Top Class Action. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. "UNITED STATES C OURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND C IRCUIT" (PDF). Lawmonitor. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. "United States District Court Central District of California" (PDF). Justia. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. Sortor, Emily (17 April 2019). "Subway Class Action Says 'Free Sub' Texts Violate Federal Law". Top Class Action. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. "Subway Class Action Alleges Sandwich Maker Sends Unsolicited Promotional Texts". Top Class Action. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. "Turizo v. Subway Franchisee Adver. Fund Trust Ltd". vLex. 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK" (PDF). ClassAction. 28 October 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. "Subway sandwiches are short on meat, lawsuit claims". NBC News. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)