To: simplicity who wrote (710007 ) 4/18/2013 10:15:13 AM From: joseffy Respond to $700K Deal in Muslims' Lawsuit Against MCDONALD'S... detroit.cbslocal.com DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – A judge has approved a long-awaited $700,000 settlement between a Dearborn McDonalds and people who say they ate chicken sandwiches, that should have been prepared as HALAL: the Muslim equivalent of Kosher.Ahmed Ahmed , the Dearborn Heights man who represents plaintiffs in the class-action suit, claims he bought a chicken sandwich in September 2011 at the restaurant but found it wasn’t prepared according to Islamic law.Islam forbids consumption of pork, and God’s name must be invoked before an animal providing meat for consumption is slaughtered. Ahmed, as well as a Detroit health clinic, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and lawyers. Wayne County Circuit Judge Kathleen Macdonald , who has overseen the case and refereed objections by outside groups since a preliminary deal was announced in January. The settlement was originally set to be finalized March 1, but Macdonald extended the public comment period after pressure from Dearborn lawyer Majed Moughni, who criticized the class-action settlement on Facebook and was temporarily barred from communicating publicly about the case.Ahmed ’s portion of the settlement is considered an “incentive award” and represents his work on the case, his attorneys say.price in time and money to do so,” Kassem Dakhlallah, an attorney whose firm represents Ahmed and the class, told The Associated Press in an email. “We are happy that we are able to finalize this case and get the settlement funds paid to the Huda Clinic to be used for medical care for the community, and to the Arab American National Museum to be used to allow our young ones to continue their educations after high school.”Ahmed , and they conducted an investigation. A letter sent to McDonald’s and the restaurant franchisee, Finley’s Management, by Dakhlallah’s firm said Ahmed had “confirmed from a source familiar with the inventory” that the restaurant had sold non-halal food “on many occasions.”charities is the best outcome, since most people wouldn’t have kept their receipts, making “identifying class members who have valid claims nearly impossible.”Dearborn ’s public schools . He said the clinic is several miles away from the restaurant and the museum has nothing to do with halal food.Dearborn — and the majority of people who eat at this McDonald’s in Dearborn live in Dearborn . So why are we giving this money to a charity outside ofDearborn ?”Dearborn Heights restaurant.Dearborn , which has one of the nation’s largest Arab and Muslim communities. Overall, the Detroit area is home to about 150,000 Muslims of many ethnicities.
