--- title: Subway Announces Plan to Ensure Footlong Sandwich Is Indeed 12 Inches Long description: A class action lawsuit against Subway has been settled, and Footlong and 6-inch sandwiches will be at least 12 and 6 inches, respectively. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2015-10-20T15:20:01.000Z' modified: '2024-02-23T10:12:20.000Z' section: Business tags: - Fast Food - Food & Drink - lawsuits word_count: 360 canonical: https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Subway sandwich and ruler](https://img.money.com/2015/10/151020_em_subway.jpg?crop=0px%2C154px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) Two years ago, a [series of lawsuits](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/25/size-matters-customers-sue-subway-after-footlong-sandwich-fails-to-measure-up/) targeted Subway, claiming that the fast food giant's "Footlong" sandwiches were not always a full foot long. The suits, which were eventually combined into one big [class action lawsuit](http://www.subsettlement.com/), represent customers who purchased 6-inch or Footlong sandwiches anytime between January 1, 2003, and October 2, 2015. The plaintiffs claim that Subway was marketing Footlong sandwiches "as being 12 inches when they are not in fact 12 inches." The six-inchers allegedly didn't always measure up either. After working on a settlement for a couple of years (gotta love lawyers!), the parties agreed to some key changes and awards on Monday. The court found that none of the marketing practices by Subway franchises were ["improper or unlawful."](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/settlement-of-in-re-subway-footlong-sandwich-marketing-and-sales-practices-litigation-300161319.html) Yet in the settlement Subway agreed to pay up to $525,000 in attorneys fees, and it agreed to employ and enforce "quality control measures to ensure that operators are complying with the rules," according to the industry publication [*Nation's Restaurant News*](http://nrn.com/quick-service/subway-nears-settlement-footlong-lawsuit). Subway restaurants will now be required to measure bread, so that Footlong and 6-inch sandwiches will indeed be at least 12 inches and 6 inches, respectively. It was originally estimated that Subway's shorter-than-advertised sandwiches meant that each customer was being shortchanged roughly 45¢, according to lawyers, at least one of whom hired a private investigator to visit 14 Subway locations and collect evidence. In the recent settlement, however, the plaintiffs receive no monetary awards. Instead, they'll have to be content with the reassurance that the next time they purchase a Footlong sandwich it will be a full foot long. The absence of cash payments to misled customers shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a loss to consumers. "Class actions are to correct mass wrongs that involve small damages," Stephen DeNittis, a N.J. attorney representing plaintiffs in the Subway suit, said to the [*Philadelphia Inquirer*](http://articles.philly.com/2013-01-24/business/36507881_1_sandwiches-subway-size-matters) in 2013. "It's not about the money." The controversy first arose after a customer in Australia posted a [photo on Facebook](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/01/subway-claims-foot-long-sub-is-in-name-alone/) showing a "Footlong" sandwich held up to a tape measure—and it was a full inch short of a full 12 inches. ***Read next: McDonald's Customers Want All-Day McMuffins, but Owners Aren't Lovin' It*** ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Franchise", "item": "https://money.com/franchise/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Subway Announces Plan to Ensure Footlong Sandwich Is Indeed 12 Inches Long" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/", "name": "Subway Announces Plan to Ensure Footlong Sandwich Is Indeed 12 Inches Long", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-10-20T15:20:01.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-02-23T10:12:20.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Subway Announces Plan to Ensure Footlong Sandwich Is Indeed 12 Inches Long", "articleSection": "Business", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/10/151020_em_subway.jpg?crop=0px%2C154px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "151020_EM_Subway" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brad Tuttle", "url": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/#author", "description": "Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/01/Brad-Tuttle.png?w=226&h=247&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Columbia University School of Journalism, MS", "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle", "https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-10-20T15:20:01.000Z", "description": "A class action lawsuit against Subway has been settled, and Footlong and 6-inch sandwiches will be at least 12 and 6 inches, respectively.", "abstract": "A class action lawsuit against Subway has been settled, and Footlong and 6-inch sandwiches will be at least 12 and 6 inches, respectively.", "@id": "https://money.com/subway-footlong-lawsuit-12-inches/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-02-23T10:12:20.000Z", "wordCount": 360, "keywords": [ "Fast Food", "Food & Drink", "lawsuits" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Franchising", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franchising" ] } ] } ] } ```