Buffalo Wild Wings can continue calling its menu item “boneless wings,” a federal judge ruled Tuesday, dismissing a lawsuit that claimed the term was false advertising.

U.S. District Judge John Tharp in Illinois issued a 10-page decision allowing the chain to retain the name after Chicago resident Aimen Halim argued that the boneless wings were overpriced and essentially chicken nuggets. Halim suggested the restaurant should label the item “chicken poppers” instead.

Tharp rejected the argument, writing that Halim “did not 'drum' up enough factual allegations to state a claim.” While Halim had standing due to alleged economic injury, the judge found he failed to show that reasonable consumers are misled by the term “boneless wings.”

Halim filed the lawsuit following a visit in January 2023, claiming he felt deceived after learning that the item consists of slices of chicken breast meat deep-fried like wings. He argued that customers would either pay less or avoid purchasing the product if they understood its composition.

The judge noted that boneless wings are “essentially chicken nuggets” but emphasized that the concept is not new. Buffalo Wild Wings has sold them since 2003, and “boneless wings” has been a common menu term for over two decades.

Tharp referenced a 2024 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, which concluded that a diner reading “boneless wings” would not believe the restaurant was serving true chicken wings or warranting the absence of bones, similar to the understanding of “chicken fingers.” He added that a “reasonable consumer” would not assume the product was a “Franken-wing” made by reconstituting deboned chicken wings.

Halim had accused the chain of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, breach of express warranty, common law fraud, and unjust enrichment. The court is allowing him to file an amended complaint by March 20, though Tharp noted it would be “difficult to imagine” that additional facts could demonstrate a deceptive act.