A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing McDonald's Corp of racial discrimination for steering Black franchise owners to underperforming stores. In a decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber said the plaintiffs did not show that McDonald's executives or managers treated Black store owners differently from non-Black owners, or when this might have occurred. "The court does not mean to imply that McDonald's operations over the years have not been tainted by the brush of racism," but historical discrimination did not justify the lawsuit, the Chicago-based judge wrote.