California judge throws out a lawsuit against Subway, which accused the chain of using fake tuna in its sandwiches

• A lawsuit alleging that Subway mislabeled its tuna has been dismissed by a judge, per reports.
• A California court found the claimants did not meet a legal standard to sue the sandwich giant.
• Subway called the suit, which was filed earlier this year, "reckless and improper."

A federal judge in California dismissed a case against Subway on Thursday, which had been brought by consumers who alleged that the tuna used in its sandwiches was not authentic.

Judge Jon S. Tigar, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, said he read the complaint and struggled to find any reliance claims, Bloomberg reported.

The lawsuit, which accused Subway of mislabeling the contents of its tuna sandwiches, made headlines when it was filed earlier this year.

Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin, the plaintiffs, filed a class-action complaint against Subway in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. It claimed that "independent testing repeatedly affirmed" Subway made the tuna product with no actual tuna fish, but did not identify the agencies that conducted such tests, Insider's Allana Akhtar reported.

The suit also alleged that Subway profited from mislabeling the tuna products by using cheaper ingredients. "The products are made from a mixture of various concoctions," the suit claimed.

Subway defended itself from the claims, saying they were "meritless."

In a previous statement to Insider, Subway said: "Tuna is one of our most popular sandwiches. Our restaurants receive 100% wild-caught tuna, mix it with mayonnaise and serve on a freshly made sandwich to our guests."

The Washington Post reported that the judge's dismissal was not based on any findings about the content of the tuna, but instead centered on the fact that the plaintiffs didn't meet a legal standard to sue.

"To meet the heightened pleading standard, plaintiffs still need to describe the specific statements they saw and relied upon, when they saw the statements, and where the statements appeared. Because they fail to do so, the complaint does not satisfy the ... standard," Tigar said in his ruling.

Subway did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Subway said. "We commend the court for dismissing the reckless and improper lawsuit surrounding Subway's tuna."

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