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Its time for the bell to toll for class-action lawyers
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I’ve got nothing against Taco Bell. It is what it is.

If anyone expected the beef in their taco to be all beef without it being part of a mixture then they are from the planet Melmac. While it isn’t all beef in their recipe - there are other ingredients - the beef is definitely ground beef.

The law firm that was suing Taco Bell for “false advertising” on behalf of an unnamed California woman who is apparently part of the vigilante food police who “wanted to purchase beef-filled food items from Taco Bell, but did not receive what she was purchasing” has since dropped their lawsuit.

The Alabama litigation firm smelled money believing they had the makings of a class action suit that would reap them big bucks while the people they were suing on behalf of - the 37 million folks each week buying 99-cent tacos - would be lucky to get a free taco.

You can just see a legal shark feasting on a 99-cent Taco Bell creation and turning up their nose. After all, what self-respecting $300-an-hour litigant tolerates fast food?

The real question should be who in their right mind thinks you’re going to get a restaurant quality taco for 99 cents? Of course there are other items in the “recipe” besides beef. But other than that, Taco Bell hasn’t stayed in business for decades by saying they’re selling something that has beef in it and not delivering.

Taco Bell is doing a media blitz with screaming type in ads stating, “Would it kill you to say you’re sorry?”

It goes on to correctly state “the law firm that brought false claims about our product quality and advertising integrity has voluntarily withdrawn their class action suit against Taco Bell. No changes to our products or ingredients. No changes to our advertising. No money exchanged. No settlement agreement. Because we’ve always used 100% USA-inspected premium beef.”

What Taco Bell should do is take out full page ads calling on our illustrious politicians to pass laws that give firms the ability to sue for unfounded class action lawsuits that drive the price of everything up including 99-cent tacos.

The basic question here is if the woman didn’t like what she was being served, why go back to Taco Bell in the first place?

You get what you get with a 99-cent fast food taco.

Not knocking Taco Bell, but their clientele isn’t exactly the health food crowd. If you don’t like how a place uses beef, don’t eat there.

It is doubtful if you talked to Taco Bell’s repeat customers that you will find them upset about the fact the beef is part of a recipe. They are going to Taco Bell for fast, inexpensive food often made by teens, to fill them up. They aren’t going there for a five-star gourmet taco experience.

Taco Bell’s reputation - regardless of what you think of their food - has been unfairly tarnished. It has never portrayed itself as anything but a place for fast, inexpensive, filler food.

And it is all because of one irked California woman whose reputation isn’t being beaten up in public for making what turns out to be an unsubstantiated claim. Of course, the accusation wouldn’t have gotten traction if class-action lawyers hadn’t gotten a hold of it.

It is growing clearer with each passing year that the economic health of this nation isn’t threatened as much by what some might perceive as unhealthy eating habits as it is by lawyers run amok.

Look who provides one of the biggest sources of campaign money for state and federal politicians. They are trial lawyers. Look who gets more special interest laws passed on behalf of their profession and manage to beat back efforts at tort reform. Trial lawyers.

They aren’t the only cause of our economic malaise by a long shot but when you look at the cost of things in this country as opposed to other countries insurance to protect against lawsuits - justified and unjustified - plays a big factor. As an example, the reason why the polio vaccine itself in other countries is less than a quarter a pop and it costs $30-plus here has more to do with insurance than anything else.

Yes, the legal system does protect those who are abused and wronged. But class-action suits like the no-starter against Taco Bell is more about lining the pockets of lawyers than it is anything else.

If you want to help the economy as well as lower health care costs we must have tort reform.