California Court Dismisses PHO Suit as “Frivolous,” Preempted
A California federal court has dismissed a consumer’s putative class action against AdvancePierre Foods, Inc. alleging the company both physically and financially harmed her by selling her a microwavable sandwich made with partially hydrogenated oil (PHO). Hawkins v. AdvancePierre Foods, Inc., No. 15-2309 (S.D. Cal., order entered November 8, 2016).
The court agreed with AdvancePierre’s argument that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s June 2015 final determination removing PHO’s status as a material generally recognized as safe for use in food implemented a June 2018 deadline for compliance to avoid allowing consumers to obtain damages for the use of PHO in the meantime. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (CAA), “No partially hydrogenated oils as defined in the [Final Determination] shall be deemed unsafe . . . and no food that is introduced into interstate commerce that bears or contains a partially hydrogenated oil shall be deemed adulterated . . . by virtue of bearing or containing a partially hydrogenated oil until the compliance date as specified in such order (June 18, 2018).”
Allowing the plaintiff “to proceed on her state claims would contravene Congress’s purpose in passing [the CAA], which was to prevent economic disruption and preclude lawsuits against food producers based on PHO content until the compliance date set forth in the Final Determination,” the court held. “This purpose is demonstrated in legislative overviews of the 2016 CAA, which state that section 754 was drafted in response to concerns of market interference and is meant to prevent ‘frivolous lawsuits.’ The Court finds that Plaintiff’s current action is one of the frivolous suits that Congress meant to preclude until 2018.”
Issue 622
