Burger King Free Food Lawsuit: The Curtis Brooner Case

The Burger King free food lawsuit was filed on January 1, 2019, by Curtis Brooner, a 50-year-old Portland, Oregon, man who said the chain promised him free meals for life after he was trapped in one of its restrooms, then revoked the offer less than two weeks later. Burger King settled the case in February 2019 for $9,026.16, the exact amount Brooner had requested to cover one Whopper meal a week for the next 22 years.¹

How Brooner Got Stuck in the Bathroom

On December 15, 2018, Brooner visited a Burger King at 2555 NE 238th Drive in Wood Village, Oregon, and went to use the restroom. The lock jammed. According to the complaint, the door itself “showed signs of damage caused by other people who had previously been locked inside.”²

Employees tried and failed to open the door. One worker slid a fly swatter under it and told Brooner to use it to jimmy the lock, and he cut his hand trying. He was stuck for more than an hour before a locksmith was called to free him.³

The Free-Meals Offer and the Reversal

Once Brooner was out, restaurant management offered him what he described as a “lifetime supply of Burger King meals at no cost” as compensation.³ The restaurant honored the deal at first. Brooner ate there daily from December 15 through December 28, skipping only Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and he kept the receipts.⁴

Then someone from district management pulled the offer, telling Brooner it had not been “officially cleared” by higher-ups.²

The Claims and the Dollar Figure

Brooner sued in Multnomah County Circuit Court, represented by attorney Michael Fuller.⁵ The complaint raised two claims: negligence, for maintaining a restroom with a known defective lock that had trapped people before, and breach of agreement, for revoking the free-meals promise. If a court found the promise unenforceable, Brooner said he would instead seek compensation for the physical injuries he sustained while trapped.³

The $9,026.16 figure came from a simple calculation: one Whopper meal at $7.89 a week, 52 weeks a year, over 22 years, which is how long Brooner expected to live to reach age 72.⁴

How the Case Ended

Burger King settled by February 2019, paying the full $9,026.16 Brooner had demanded. The company made no admission of liability and disputed the underlying claims, but the payout gave Brooner the cash equivalent of one Whopper meal a week for the rest of his life.⁶

Was the Promise Legally Binding?

Contract law generally treats advertisements and casual promotional statements as invitations to negotiate, not enforceable offers. The best-known illustration is Leonard v. Pepsico, the 1999 case in which a man tried to redeem seven million Pepsi Points for a Harrier fighter jet featured in a commercial; a federal court ruled no reasonable person would treat the ad as a genuine offer.⁷

Brooner’s situation was different. The promise was not a mass-market gag in a TV spot but a direct, face-to-face offer from restaurant staff to a specific customer in response to a specific incident, and the restaurant then honored it for nearly two weeks before pulling it. That pattern of conduct gave the claim enough weight that Burger King chose to pay rather than argue the point in court.

1
People. Oregon Man Promised Free Food at Burger King Settles Lawsuit
2
Willamette Week. Portland Man Locked in Burger King Bathroom Says Company Reneged on Offer of Free Whoppers for Life
3
ABC News. Man Sues Burger King Claiming They Backed Out of Giving Him Free Food for Life
4
The Takeout. Man Sues Over Bathroom Mishap at Burger King and Free Food for Life
5
The Oregonian. Burger King Broke Its Promise of Free Meals for Life to Portland Area Customer, Lawsuit Claims
6
Twisted Food. Man Who Sued Burger King Agrees Deal That Guarantees Free Whopper Meal Every Week for the Next 22 Years
7
Justia. Leonard v. Pepsico, 88 F. Supp. 2d 116