Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) has removed to federal court a putative class action alleging that the company failed to disclose that its Ice Mountain® 5-gallon bottles are not 100 percent natural spring water, “but are actually resold water sourced from municipal water systems.” The Chicago Faucet Shoppe, Inc. v. NWNA, Inc., No. 12-8119 (N.D. Ill., filed October 10, 2012). The named plaintiff, a company that contracted with NWNA in 2008 to deliver the water bottles to its Chicago office, filed the action on behalf of all purchasers in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri under Illinois consumer fraud laws. The removal notice claims that under the Class Action Fairness Act, diversity of citizenship exists between putative class members and the defendant and that the amount in controversy exceeds the $5 million jurisdictional threshold. “According to NWNA’s records, since October 2009, more than $5,000,000 of Ice Mountain® brand 5-gallon bottled water has…
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A coalition of industry and union interests has filed a petition seeking to enjoin or invalidate the New York City (NYC) Department of Health prohibition on the sale of certain sugar-sweetened beverages in servings exceeding 16 ounces from certain types of business establishments. N.Y. Statewide Coal. of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene, No. 653584/2012 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty., filed October 12, 2012). The coalition contends that the Board of Health acted beyond its powers in adopting the prohibition and that it is arbitrary and capricious in its design and application. Members of the coalition include trade associations for Korean-American grocers, restaurants, beverage makers, and theater owners, as well as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a soft drink and brewery workers union local. According to the petition, the rule does not apply to beverages higher in calories than soft drinks, including alcohol-based drinks, wines,…
A coalition of industry and union interests has filed a petition seeking to enjoin or invalidate the New York City (NYC) Department of Health prohibition on the sale of certain sugar-sweetened beverages in servings exceeding 16 ounces from certain types of business establishments. N.Y. Statewide Coal. of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce v. NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene, No. 653584/2012 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty., filed October 12, 2012). The coalition contends that the Board of Health acted beyond its powers in adopting the prohibition and that it is arbitrary and capricious in its design and application. Members of the coalition include trade associations for Korean-American grocers, restaurants, beverage makers, and theater owners, as well as the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a soft drink and brewery workers union local. According to the petition, the rule does not apply to beverages higher in calories than soft drinks, including alcohol-based…
A recent study has purportedly found “for the first time a link between excess dietary sugar and the accumulation of liver fat by DNL [de novo lipogenesis],” the process by which simple sugars like fructose or glucose are converted in the liver into SFA palmitate. Ksenia Sevastianova, et al., “Effect of short-term carbohydrate overfeeding and long-term weight loss on liver fat in overweight humans,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, October 2012. After placing 16 overweight subjects on a high-calorie diet for three weeks and then a low-calorie diet for six months, researchers reported that carbohydrate overfeeding induced an approximately 10-fold “greater relative change in liver fat (27%) than in body weight (2%),” with the increase in liver fat proportional to DNL. Based on these findings, the study’s authors concluded that “short-term overfeeding with simple carbohydrates markedly increases liver fat and stimulates DNL in overweight subjects.” They also noted that, although…
A recent study has reportedly observed an association between heavier coffee consumption and increased risk of exfoliation glaucoma or exfoliation glaucoma suspect (EG/EGS). Louis Pasquale, et al., “The Relationship between Caffeine and Coffee Consumption and Exfoliation Glaucoma or Glaucoma Suspect: A Prospective Study in Two Cohorts,” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, September 2012. Researchers with the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, used eye examination data and follow-up questionnaires from 78,977 women and 41,202 men enrolled in health studies to determine that those who reported drinking three or more cups of caffeinated coffee each day were more likely to develop EG/EGS than those who abstained. The study also found that this risk increased for women with a family history of glaucoma, but did not identify a similar association between EG/EGS and other caffeinated products, such as soda or tea, or decaffeinated coffee. “Because this…
Researchers with McGill University have reportedly identified a genetic mutation linked to the development of mood disorders and obesity in humans.Carl Ernst, et al., “Highly Penetrant Alterations of a Critical Region Including BDNF in Human Psychopathology and Obesity,”Archives of General Psychiatry,October 2012. After screening more than 35,000 people referred for genetic testing and comparing the results with data from approximately 30,000 control subjects, scientists found five participants with a rare genomic deletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), “a nervous system growth factor that plays a critical role in brain development.” These participants all exhibited obesity and “mild-moderate intellectual impairment” as well as a mood disorder. “The consensus phenotype for individuals with a deletion in BDNF suggests that young children are hyperactive and have an intolerance to change. As subjects age, they likely develop more pronounced anxiety and mood disorders, exemplified by the 16-year-old and 21-year-old subjects with major depressive disorder and…
A recent perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine has argued that “steps should be taken” to curb “spur-of-the moment, emotion-related purchases… triggered by seeing the product or a related message.” Deborah Cohen & Susan Babey, et al., “Candy at the Cash Register — A Risk Factor for Obesity and Chronic Disease,” NEJM, October 2012. The article takes issue with impulse marketing focused on “the placement and display of products in retail outlets,” such as candy offered for sale at cash registers. “Placement of foods in prominent locations increases the rate at which they’re purchased; purchase leads to consumption; and consumption of foods high in sugar, fat and salt increases the risks of chronic disease,” state the authors. “Because of this chain of causation, we would argue that the prominent placement of foods associated with chronic diseases should be treated as a risk factor for those diseases.” In…
A company whose deli meat products were allegedly contaminated by the inclusion of the Salmonella-tainted red and black pepper sold to it by a supplier has sued the supplier’s insurance company to recover damages resulting from the products’ recall. Daniele Int’l, Inc. v. Penn-Star Ins. Co., No. 12-709 (D.R.I., filed October 9, 2012). According to the plaintiff, which was awarded a default judgment of $33.18 million in a suit against the supplier in September 2012, the defendant’s insurance policies extend to the supplier’s liability for the plaintiff’s losses and damages. The plaintiff also contends that the insurance carrier was notified about the underlying litigation.
Two commercial liability insurance companies have filed a complaint against Phusion Projects Inc., the company that makes Four Loko®, an alcoholic beverage containing stimulants such as caffeine, guarana and taurine, seeking a declaration that “they do not owe a duty to defend or indemnify” the company in personal injury and wrongful death actions filed against it in several states. The Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Phusion Projects Inc., No. 12-7968 (N.D. Ill., filed October 4, 2012). The underlying complaints involve a California resident who was shot to death by police after consuming the beverage and acting “in an irritated, agitated, and disoriented manner”; a New York resident who sustained injuries in an auto accident with a woman who had consumed the product and allegedly drove her car in a reckless manner; a New Jersey resident who died from a stabbing in an attack by a woman who had allegedly “imbibed Four Loko”;…
A California resident has filed a putative class action against Campbell Soup Co. alleging that it falsely represents that some of its products are “100% Natural” when they in fact contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) “in the form of soy, corn, soy derivatives, and or corn derivatives.” Barnes v. Campbell Soup Co., No. 12-05185 (N.D. Cal., filed October 5, 2012). Specifically targeted in the complaint are the company’s “100% Natural Southwest-Style White Chicken Chili” and “100% Natural Healthy Request® Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla Soup.” The plaintiff alleges that he “would not have purchased the Products if he had known that the Defendant’s Products are not ‘100% Natural’ because they contain GMOs.” Seeking to certify a statewide class of product purchasers, the plaintiff alleges violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. He requests injunctive relief; restitution; disgorgement; attorney’s fees; actual, statutory and punitive damages; costs; and interest.…
