How Many Burger King 'Meals for Life' Is Too Many?

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on January 10, 2019 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

They say if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. But what about when you give a man free Burger King for the rest of his life? Then you teach him how to do some math.

An Oregon man claims his lifetime of free burgers was cut off after only a few weeks, and the chain is going to need to fork over $9,026.16.

How Much Is a Lifetime of Burger King Worth?

Curtis Brooner says the manager of a Wood Village Burger King offered him free food for the rest of his life in mid-December. And for a few weeks at least, they honored that promise, comping his meals whenever he came in to the restaurant. But apparently once a regional manager got wind of the deal, he nixed it, and Brooner is suing for the value of those lost burgers.

"We determined his life would last 72 years which is about 5 years less than average based on his frequent consumption of cheese burgers," according to Brooner's attorney, Michael Fuller. The pair calculated that one burger meal a week at $7.89 over the estimated 22 years Brooner has left to live totals a little more than $9,026.16, which is the exact amount they are suing for. "I think we will reach a fair settlement," Fuller said. "My client was presented with an offer, he accepted it and a deal was a deal."

It's the Principle of the Thing

So on what, exactly, was that deal based? KATU reports that Brooner visited that particular Burger King on December 15, only to become trapped in a bathroom for over an hour. "He went to the restroom washed his hands and when he went to pull the door it wouldn't open," according to Fuller. "They gave him a fly swatter to 'jimmy' the door open, which actually cut his hand." Brooner's lawsuit claims BK employees laughed from the other side of the door until a locksmith was finally able to free him.

"To make things right," Fuller told the station, "the Burger King manager offered him free food for the rest of his life should he come into the restaurant."

And if you're wondering why the attorney Fuller phrased the agreement above the way he did, oral contracts are enforceable in many situations, as long as you have an offer, acceptance, and mutual agreement between competent parties. "It's the principle," Fuller added, "the jury is going to enjoy it. There are funny elements of the case, but there is nothing funny about being locked in a dank bathroom for an hour."

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