Trump's labor secretary pick sued a fast-food rival for implying his burger meat came from a disturbing source

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Charlotte McKinney Carls Jr hamburger model eating

YouTube/Carl's Jr.

A Carl's Jr. commercial starring Charlotte McKinney.

As President Donald Trump's nomination of fast-food CEO Andy Puzder for secretary of labor creates waves, a decade-old fast-food lawsuit has come out of the shadows.

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In 2007, Puzder led CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr, in suing rival Jack in the Box for airing a commercial that implied the burger chains used meat from a cow's anus, CNN reported on Friday.

In the ads, Jack in the Box employees laugh when the word "Angus" is said and imply that that the "Angus" area of the cow is an improper part of its body.

Puzder was unamused by the campaign, as Carl's Jr. and Hardee's sold Angus beef (using a certain type of cattle), compared to Jack In the Box's sirloin burgers (which used a certain cut of meat).

"They're not being funny," Puzder told the Associated Press. "They need to stop misleading people about what Angus beef is."

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Andy Puzder

Jack Plunkett/AP Images for Carl's Jr.

Andy Puzder

So, CKE took the case to court, presenting the judge with a survey that revealed 36% of the 404 people surveyed believed Angus beef came from the cow's behind.

"Defendant's Sirloin burger commercials create the false impression that the meat used in plaintiff's 100% Angus Beef Hamburgers comes from the rear-end and/or anus of beef cattle by creating phonetic and aural confusion between the words 'Angus' and 'anus,'" CKE argued, reported CNN.

While attempts to get an injunction to have the ads removed from the air were initially denied, the fast-food companies eventually reached a settlement and the case was dismissed.

One decade later, Puzder is dealing with even weightier legal matters, with fast-food workers coming out to both support and protest against their boss.

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On Tuesday, it was announced that Puzder's confirmation hearing for secretary of labor had been pushed back for the fourth time. The hearing will not be rescheduled until Puzder provides the committee with paperwork providing necessary background on his potential conflicts of interest, financial information, and personal history.

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