Ohio’s highest court rules that boneless chicken can have bones

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Diners who order boneless chicken wings cannot expect the meat to be actually free of bones, an Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. Berkheimer sued the restaurant, Wings on Brookwood, and also named the supplier and farm where the chicken came from, and claimed that the restaurant failed to warn him that ‘boneless wings’ could contain bones. In the ruling, the Supreme Court said that “boneless wings” actually refer to the cooking style of the meat, and that the restaurant patron should have been on guard against bones as it is common knowledge that chickens do have bones. Justice Joseph T Deters wrote for the majority that “a diner reading ‘boneless wings’ on a menu would no more believe that the restaurant was warranting the absence of bones in the items than believe that the items were made from chicken wings, just as a person eating ‘chicken fingers’ would know that he had not been served fingers.” “The food item’s label on the menu described a cooking style; it was not a guarantee.” Meanwhile, the disagreeing justices called this reasoning “utter jabberwocky,” arguing that it should have been up to a jury to decide whether the restaurant was negligent in serving Berkheimer a dish that was advertised on the menu as being boneless.