Subway settles class action, agrees to measure its sandwiches

SUBWAY has agreed to a bizarre set of conditions as part of a settlement stemming from a viral social media post from 2012.

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: A Subway sandwich is seen in a restaurant as the company announced a settlement over a class-action lawsuit that alleged that Subway engaged in deceptive marketing for its 6-inch and 12-inch sandwiches and served customers less food than they were paying for on October 21, 2015 in Miami, Florida. While it denies the claims, Subway said that franchisees would be required to have a measurement tool in stores to make sure loaves are 12-inches. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

TENS of millions of people who purchased a 6 or 12-inch Subway sandwich in the US since 2003 will be entitled to a cut of a class action settlement involving the franchise.

The legal action grew from a 2012 social media post about a foot-long sub that came up short.

Subway notes none of its marketing was found improper and says it just wants its customers happy.

But the long and short of it is, only the nine named plaintiffs in the preliminary resolution approved by a federal judge in Milwaukee this month will see any money — up to $US1000 ($A1,387) each.

What does everyone else get? Subway’s assurance that it will pay more attention to size, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

On the website for the settlement, no fewer than nine undertakings to that effect are laid out in detail, including that franchisees will use a “tool for measuring bread” and conduct monthly inspections at each store sampling “at least 10 baked breads” to ensure each “is at least 12 inches long”.

Some plaintiffs had initially been seeking up to $US5 million ($A6.93 million) for fraud and deceptive trade practices. Subway argued that its rolls use the same weight of dough, but that inconsistencies in baking left some short.

A spokeswoman for Subway Australia said: “We have taken steps in Australia, just as we have all over the world, to make sure that all of our sandwiches are 12-inches or 30.5 centimetres in length. We did make those changes a long time ago. The case applies to the US not Australia.”