Plaintiffs Dismiss Lawsuit Against Gruma for Alleged “All Natural” Chips Mislabeling

A California federal court has granted the plaintiffs’ request to dismiss their entire action with prejudice in a case accusing Gruma Corp. of labeling its Mission Restaurant Style tortilla chips as “all natural” despite containing genetically modified corn. Cox v. Gruma Corp., No. 12-6502 (N.D. Cal., order entered July 25, 2014). The plaintiffs’ stipulation to dismiss did not indicate whether the parties reached a settlement agreement. In the 2012 complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that Gruma violated state consumer protection laws like the Consumer Legal Remedies Act due to its alleged mislabeling; in July 2014, they debated Gruma’s motion to dismiss, in which the corporation argued that a reasonable customer would not have been misled by their labels, the complaint’s claims infringed the First Amendment, the plaintiffs failed to plead their fraud claims with the particularity required, and the court lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction. Additional information on the case appears in Issues 487, 509 and 511 of this Update.