Lawsuit against Costco’s popular rotisserie chicken ‘fatally flawed,’ company’s lawyers say

Costco’s rotisserie chicken lawsuit has taken another turn.

The proposed class-action — which says Costco “systematically cheated” customers by advertising its hugely popular rotisserie chicken as preservative-free — is “fatally flawed” and should be thrown out, lawyers for the company said in a new filing this month.

The original lawsuit was filed in January in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by two women from the state.

It notes Costco’s Kirkland Signature seasoned rotisserie chicken includes sodium phosphate and carrageenan and calls them preservatives. Lawyers for the two women allege the “No Preservatives” label on the packaging was therefore misleading, unlawful and unfair.

Costco told CBC News at the time it uses the ingredients to support moisture retention, texture and product consistency during cooking.

After the lawsuit was filed, the company subsequently said it had removed its “no preservatives” references “to maintain consistency” among its labelling and signs — a move that the plaintiff’s legal team pointed to as validation.

“It’s confirmation of our core legal theory — the ‘no preservative’ claims were false,” Wesley M. Griffith of the Almeida Law Group said in an online statement.

But Costco’s motion to dismiss, filed June 4, says, “This theory is fatally flawed. ” The documents argue sodium phosphate and carrageenan do not function as preservatives in the chicken and that they are “unambiguously” described in the seasoning ingredients on the label.

“Plaintiffs’ own sources contradict [the allegation], the regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discredit it, and the product label dispels it.”

Costco’s lawyers also take issue with the original complaint’s claim that if the two women had known what the chicken contained they would have paid less for it elsewhere.

“Plaintiffs concede that Costco removed the disputed signage after this lawsuit was filed, yet the rotisserie chicken’s price remains unchanged at its well-known $4.99. This admission is fatal: there is no price premium, and there never was one.”

Count their chickens

Costco’s rotisserie chickens are one of the retail giant’s signature items — they’ve been $4.99 US in the U.S. since 2009, with the company willing to hold the line in order to attract customers

(Former Costco CEO Craig Jelinek famously told a story where he told founder Jim Sinegal that he needed to raise the similarly static price of Costco’s $1.50 hot dog. Sinegal said Jelinek replied, “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you.”)

In Canada, Costco’s rotisserie chicken is more like $7.99 to $9 Cdn, which is still less expensive than comparable cooked chickens sold at other major grocery stories.

Costco sold 154.7 million birds worldwide in 2025 — or about 300 a minute.

Costco’s lawyers are asking the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs would not be able to try again.

A judge will hear the motion to dismiss on Aug. 13.