A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed most claims by 48 Black McDonald’s franchisees, significantly narrowing grounds for a potential class-action lawsuit against the fast-food chain.
Separate complaints presented by 48 Black McDonald’s franchisees for a potential class-action lawsuit under the case Manning v. McDonald’s were reviewed by Judge Steven Seeger.
That lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Kenneth Manning, a former McDonald’s franchisee who had owned as many as 20 McDonald’s franchised restaurants in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina from 2001 to 2017.
On September 21, in a 125-page ruling, Seeger said most of the plaintiffs’ claims did not have sufficient facts or evidence or were filed after the statute of limitations had expired. Questions of whether the complaints qualified for class-action status were raised following Seeger’s ruling.
In the lawsuit, Manning v. McDonald’s, the fast-food giant was accused of engaging in racial discrimination, retaliation, interference and breach of contract, as it allegedly steered Black franchisees into purchasing underperforming restaurants in crime-ridden areas under false pretenses.
Black franchisees also alleged McDonald’s treated them more unfairly than white franchisees, offering less support and making greater demands. In a nutshell, court documents said, “McDonald’s allegedly set Black franchisees up to fail, and denied them equal opportunity to succeed. And then, it showed them the door.”
In the original lawsuit, Black operators also alleged that they faced retaliation from McDonald’s after they rejected offers to continue running their restaurants in low-income neighborhoods.
The plaintiffs also alleged that McDonald’s provided misleading projections that persuaded them to buy undesirable franchises and denied them better locations typically offered to white franchisees, who operated safer restaurants with higher sales and lower security costs.
Seeger said in his September 21 ruling, “The allegations have the feel of a vast nationwide conspiracy. Plaintiffs allege a complex, conspiracy-like scheme by McDonald’s to give the shaft to Black franchisees across the country.”
According to court documents, the 48 Black franchisees together had 480 claims against McDonald’s.
In his ruling, Seeger said the court had to address each claim by each of the 48 plaintiffs, one by one. He said the complaint included allegations that stretched back decades, raising big questions about the statute of limitations.
On the discrimination claim, Seeger said, “Plaintiffs fall short of satisfying that high standard. The complaint is long on general themes and short on specific facts showing discriminatory intent.”
McDonald’s, in a statement provided by a spokesperson, said the ruling affirmed the company’s position that the lawsuit lacked merit.
“McDonald’s provides robust resources to ensure our franchisees can succeed; our success is tied to their success,” the company said.
Despite the ruling, the case is not over.
Seeger allowed 16 plaintiffs to proceed with breach-of-contract claims, including allegations that McDonald’s denied them certain benefits, such as rent relief or emergency financial assistance, that were available to other franchise owners.
Steve Art, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declined to comment until his clients had a chance to review the ruling.
According to the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association (NBMOA), McDonald’s at one point had as many as 377 Black franchisees, in 1998. In 2021, there were only 186, according to The Guardian.
The cash flow gap for Black franchisees more than tripled from 2010 to 2019, according to the NBMOA.
In a lawsuit brought by media entrepreneur Byron Allen against McDonald’s, Allen accused the fast-food chain of intentionally excluding Black-owned media from much of its advertising budget. McDonald’s settled the case in 2025 on confidential terms and denied wrongdoing.
There are three lawsuits pending before Seeger that collectively involve 80 franchisees. They accuse McDonald’s of a decades-long pattern of race discrimination. They claim McDonald’s deliberately steered Black franchisees to purchase underperforming restaurants in predominantly Black areas with high crime rates, while denying them opportunities to purchase franchises in affluent, more profitable areas.
McDonald’s also offered Black franchise owners less operational support, imposed harsher demands and obstructed their business expansion efforts, the plaintiffs claim.