A Papa John’s customer has filed a putative class action against the pizza company in Illinois state court, alleging that the chain illegally charges sales tax on delivery fees, resulting in each delivery customer overpaying by $0.16. Zucker v. Papa John’s Int’l, Inc, No. 14-668 (Madison Cty. Ct., filed May 5, 2014). Zachary Tucker argues that Illinois sales tax may be imposed only on the total sales price of tangible property, excluding the delivery fee, so long as the actual cost of delivery is less than the amount of the delivery fee. As a result, the complaint alleges, Papa John’s has violated and continues to violate the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA), an Illinois consumer protection statute. In addition to class certification, Tucker seeks a cease-and-desist ruling to prevent Papa John’s from continuing to charge sales tax on delivery fees in Illinois, as well as damages for negligence, breach of…
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Frank Magliato, “in his capacity as stockholder representative for the former shareholders of Natural Balance Pet Foods,” has reportedly filed a lawsuit against H.J. Heinz Co., alleging that the food company knowingly sold processed sheep lungs adulterated with rubber rings to Natural Balance. The complaint alleges that while Heinz knew both that the rubber rings had been lodged in internal organs of the sheep and that the rings could be hazardous to animals, the company did not alert Natural Balance or its customers to the potential danger. According to Magliato, Natural Balance recognized that the food was adulterated before selling the products, but had it not, Heinz’s negligence could have exposed the pet food company to litigation and damaged its reputation. Magliato seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, restitution and $400,000 in damages for strict products liability, breach of express and implied warranty, negligence, unfair business practices and fraud, as well…
Stewart Parnell, former president of the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA), linked to a 2008-2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak that allegedly killed nine who consumed products made with the company’s tainted peanut paste and injured some 700 others, has filed a motion asking the court to exclude “all evidence related to any alleged illness or death” during his criminal trial. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr 12 (M.D. Ga., motion filed May 20, 2014). Observing that the government’s pleaded harm “consists of monetary harm to the customers and individuals named” and that the entire case is “premised on the alleged wrongful conduct of obtaining money by false pretenses,” Parnell argues that victim-impact evidence is irrelevant and would be highly prejudicial. In this regard, he states, “[T]he only purpose for introducing evidence of salmonella-related illness and death is to inflame the jury in an effort to suggest a decision on an improper basis.”…
Federal prosecutors have reportedly filed criminal charges against Iowa-based Quality Egg LLC and two former company executives—Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter—over a 2010 Salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands across the country and resulted in the recall of some 550 million eggs. United States v. Quality Egg, LLC, No. 14-cr-3024 (N.D. Iowa, filed May 21, 2014). The charging document, which brings two felony counts of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce against the company and related misdemeanor charges against the DeCosters, alleges that the company sold tainted eggs from early 2010 until the August recall. According to news sources, the DeCosters are expected to enter guilty pleas on June 3, 2014, as part of a plea agreement that ends the four-year investigation. The charging document alleges that the company sold products with labels making “the eggs appear to be not as old as they actually were” from 2006 to 2010,…
After a three-week trial, a jury has reportedly cleared Anheuser-Busch of sex discrimination in a suit brought by former executive Francine Katz, who had alleged that she was paid less than her male counterparts because of her gender. Katz v. Anheuser-Busch Inc., No. 922-CC09513 (St. Louis Circ. Ct., verdict rendered May 16, 2014). Katz worked at Anheuser-Busch as vice president of communications and consumer affairs from 2002 to 2008, when she left following InBev NV’s November 2008 acquisition of the company. During the acquisition process, Katz learned that her compensation was lower than the pay received by her male colleagues on the strategy committee, and she filed a suit alleging violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act in 2009. Following the jury’s decision, Katz told the media that she hoped she had helped to draw attention to the issue of gender bias in compensation. See St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 17,…
A New York state court has granted a motion for summary judgment and dismissed libel claims filed against Fox Television Stations Inc. by a D’Lites ice cream seller. Prince v. Fox Television Stations Inc., No. 107129/2011 (N.Y. S. Ct., order entered May 6, 2014). Matthew Prince filed a libel suit against Fox after a local channel in New York aired a report claiming that the low-calorie ice cream sold in the D’Lites stores Prince would soon be opening in the area contained more than three times as many calories, carbohydrates, total fat, and sugar than the amounts the chain advertised—for example, 148 calories rather than the advertised 50. The court rejected Fox’s argument that its report had not sufficiently identified Prince, despite that the reporters only visited stores that Prince did not own and the report briefly showed a screenshot of the D’Lites website listing what cities would soon have…
According to news sources, the South Dakota Supreme Court has denied the defendants’ petition seeking review and dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Beef Products, Inc. alleging that the ABC network and news anchor Diane Sawyer, among others, defamed the company by their coverage of the company’s lean, finely textured beef, which has been dubbed “pink slime” by critics. Beef Prods., Inc. v. Am. Broadcasting Cos., Inc., No. 12-292 (Union Cty. Cir. Ct., S.D., supreme court order entered May 22, 2014). Without discussing the case merits, the court also apparently lifted a stay that had stopped the discovery process in April 2014. Additional details about the lawsuit appear in Issues 519 and 453 of this Update. The plaintiff seeks $1.2 billion in damages. See AP, May 23, 2014. Issue 524
In a putative class action alleging that a food company misled its customers by using the term “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) instead of “sugar” on its labels, a California federal court has followed the lead of several other courts in recent decisions by dismissing the case without prejudice under the primary jurisdiction doctrine—this time, reversing its previous decision to allow the case to move forward. Swearingen v. Yucatan Foods LP, No. 13-3544 (N.D. Cal., order entered May 20, 2014). Guacamole producer Yucatan Foods had argued that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had primary jurisdiction over the matter, but Judge Richard Seeborg initially disagreed, finding that FDA had taken no action on ECJ since 2009 and thus that the agency considered the matter settled. On March 5, 2014, one month after the Yucatan decision was filed, FDA announced that it would reevaluate its previous draft ECJ guidance. Following the…
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report on the purported harmful effects of alcohol in 194 WHO member states. The agency attributes 3.3 million deaths in 2012 to the harmful use of alcohol, and it found that the 38.3 percent of the world’s population that drinks alcohol consumes an average of 17 liters of pure alcohol each year. The report highlighted the need for WHO member states to take action in the form of national alcohol policies, awareness-raising activities and health services for prevention and treatment of alcohol related diseases. WHO attributes higher risk of developing more than 200 diseases to alcohol use and further notes that harmful use can lead to higher susceptibility to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia. “More needs to be done to protect populations from the negative health consequences of alcohol consumption,” said WHO Assistant Director General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental…
As the World Health Assembly opened its 67th session in Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan reportedly expressed her deep concern about the increasing incidence worldwide in childhood obesity, stating, “Our children are getting fatter.” Chan announced the formation of a high-level Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. Chaired by Peter Gluckman, the chief science advisor to New Zealand’s prime minister, the commission will produce a consensus report detailing measures that would be most effective in addressing the issue in different countries around the world. Its recommendations will be announced during the 2015 World Health Assembly. Two international membership bodies called on governments convening in Geneva to develop a global convention to address obesity, similar to the legal framework for tobacco control. The World Obesity Federation and Consumers International (CI) have launched their campaign by calling for controls on food marketing, improvements to nutrition information labels, the reformulation of…
