Lawsuit Tossed In Dearborn Little Caesars 'Halal Pepperoni' Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A judge has rejected a lawsuit against a Little Caesars Pizza franchise, alleging it sold pork as "halal pepperoni" at one of its locations Detroit area.

The Detroit Free Press reports that on Thursday the Wayne County judge dismissed the suit filed by Dearborn resident Mohamad Bazzi.

Bazzi filed the complaint in May, saying he ordered halal pizza from the Little Caesars on Schaefer in Dearborn twice. He claims the boxes were labeled "halal," but the pizzas inside were topped with regular pork pepperoni.

Halal is the Muslim equivalent of Judaism's kosher, and requires that meat be prepared according to Islamic guidelines, such as reciting a prayer while the animal is killed. Pork is prohibited in Islam, the religion Bazzi follows, and halal pepperoni is typically made with beef.

A lawyer for Little Caesars called the lawsuit frivolous. Attorney J. Michael Huget said asserted that Bazzi had ordered a pepperoni pizza without pork but then switched his order to a Hot-And-ready Pizza. He says pizzas that are available for instant purchase typically aren't halal.

Bazzi's attorney, Majed Mougni, says he may appeal because the judge didn't let them amend the complaint to prove a cause behind the pizza chain's actions. Mougni added that he has reached out to the pizza chain to get resolution.

"We have already reached out to the attorneys of Little Caesars and said 'just come forward, make the admission and make the corrections,'" Mougni said. "They have already made the corrections by removing halal pepperoni, now they just need to make the admission that they have been falsely serving them to the Muslim community and we'll probably walk away from this. We are not looking to make $100 million but there were a lot of people who were hurt and harmed. They need to come forward and admit they made a mistake."

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.