CASE OF INTEREST

March 18, 2005

Contact: Ruth Young
Deputy District Attorney
Consumer & Environmental Protection Division
(916) 874-6174

Re: PEOPLE v. BURGER KING, Inc.


District Attorney Jan Scully announced today the settlement of a civil lawsuit against Burger King, Inc. for unfair business practices in violation of Business & Professions Code Section 17200. The lawsuit was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ruth Young based upon an investigation by the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department along with other county agencies.

The investigation revealed that Burger King, Inc. illegally maintained property at 6819 Watt Avenue, North Highlands, CA. The complaint alleged that Burger King, Inc. maintained a blighted property in violation of California Health & Safety Codes and Sacramento County Codes during the four years prior to the filing of the complaint. Conditions on the property included an abandoned drive-in which was open and accessible, solid waste & hazardous materials violations, repeated accumulation of junk and rubbish, failure to maintain signs and landscaping along with general conditions constituting a blight on the community.

Under the stipulated judgment, Burger King, Inc. has agreed to the payment of civil penalties of $170,000, plus costs of $35,000. Burger King, Inc. is also permanently enjoined and restrained from directly or indirectly maintaining other blighted property within California.

Deputy District Attorney Ruth Young, who expressed thanks for the efforts of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and Bill Motmans, the investigator for the District Attorney’s Community Prosecution Unit, stated, "This judgment will assure that a once blighted corridor of Watt Avenue will again have the opportunity to prosper in North Highlands.”