In a 76-count indictment, four individuals formerly associated with the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA), which was the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009, have been charged with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and other counts involving the distribution of adulterated or misbranded food. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-12 (M.D. Ga., filed February 15, 2013). A fifth individual employed by PCA has entered a guilty plea to charges filed against him. United States v. Kilgore, No. 13-7 (M.D. Ga., filed February 11, 2013). The outbreak was traced to the Blakely, Georgia, plant owned by defendant Stewart Parnell. The other defendants are Michael Parnell, who was employed as a food broker on behalf of PCA, Samuel Lightsey, the Blakely plant’s operations manager from July 2008 through February 2009, and Mary Wilkerson, who worked in a number of positions from April 2002 through February 2009, including as…
Category Archives 11th Circuit
A federal court in Alabama has dismissed breach of contract and warranty claims filed against a company that makes Florida Natural® orange juice and markets it as “fresh,” “100%” or “pure,” finding that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the claims on behalf of a putative class of purchasers. Veal v. Citrus World, Inc., No. 12-801 (N.D. Ala., decided January 8, 2013). The court refused to allow the plaintiff to amend his complaint for a fourth time on the grounds that no amendment can cure its deficiencies and bad faith. According to the court, “This is plaintiff’s counsel’s fourth attempt (not counting the arguments before the MDL [multidistrict litigation] panel) to pursue a class action against defendant based on the same inherently flawed theory of liability. Upon not being included as class counsel in the MDL, plaintiff’s counsel returned here and went shopping for plaintiffs in an attempt to manufacture a…
A federal court in Georgia has denied a request to certify a nationwide class of Steak 'n Shake hourly employees in a dispute over alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, finding that class members are not similarly situated to the named plaintiffs or to each other. Beecher v. Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc., No. 11-04102 (N.D. Ga., decided September 27, 2012). The putative class would have involved some 65,000 employees working in more than 400 corporate restaurants in five different U.S. regions. They alleged that restaurant managers were authorized to and did in fact change time records in bad faith and thus did not compensate them for all of their work or paid them less than minimum wage. According to the court, the evidence showed that restaurant managers had a number of legitimate reasons for altering time records. For example, if the clock in/clock out times did not correctly…
A Florida resident has filed a putative statewide class action alleging that Frito-Lay falsely labels its snacks, including “Bean Dip products,” as “ALL NATURAL” despite the use of ingredients—particularly soy—containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Altman v. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., No. 12-61803 (S.D. Fla., filed September 13, 2012). The gist of the complaint is that products containing GMOs should not be labeled “all natural” unless they also disclose that the products contain GMOs. The plaintiff contends that she would not have purchased the company’s bean dip if she had known the company “could not support its claim that the Product is all natural.” Seeking to represent a class of Florida consumers who purchased Frito-Lay “All Natural” products over the past four years, the plaintiff alleges violations of the state’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and unjust enrichment. She requests injunctive relief, restitution, actual damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, costs,…
While a federal court in Florida has dismissed a putative class action alleging that Target Corp. violates consumer fraud laws by selling honey that does not conform to the state’s honey standard, it gave the plaintiff leave to amend the complaint and also found that (i) the plaintiff had standing to bring the claims, (ii) Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)’s heightened pleading standard did not apply, and (iii) the claims were not preempted by federal law. Guerrero v. Target Corp., No. 12-21115 (S.D. Fla., decided September 4, 2012). The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice because it failed “to provide any more specific details regarding how Plaintiff knows that Defendant’s honey did not contain pollen. Thus, the Court agrees with Defendant’s argument that Plaintiff’s Complaint, as currently plead (sic), fails to state a claim because it does not provide fair notice to Defendant regarding the factual basis for Plaintiff’s…
A federal court in Florida has denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) request that it modify a stipulated final order resolving a 2006 dispute with Garden of Life, Inc. over purportedly unsubstantiated representations that its products could treat a range of serious diseases and their symptoms. FTC v. Garden of Life, Inc., No. 06-80226 (S.D. Fla., filed May 25, 2012). The parties had agreed that the company could make such claims if supported by “competent and reliable scientific evidence,” defined in the stipulated final order as “tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence based on the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, that has been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results.” Claiming that the company was continuing to deceive consumers and that “the Stipulated Final Order has failed to…
A Florida resident has filed a complaint on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers against Frito-Lay, alleging that it sells the company’s snack foods, such as Tostitos® chips, Sunchips® and bean dip, as “All Natural” without disclosing that they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Foust v. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., No. 12-21975 (S.D. Fla., filed May 25, 2012). According to the complaint, “The Product poses a potential threat to consumers because medical research and scientific studies have yet to determine the long-term health effects of genetically engineered foods. Recent studies suggest that GMOs may in fact be harmful to a consumer’s health.” Still, the plaintiff does not allege personal injury, claiming instead that he would not have purchased the product “if he had known that the Defendant could not support their [sic] claim that the Product is all natural because it contains GMOs.” In this regard, the plaintiff notes that…
An Alabama resident has reportedly filed seven lawsuits in federal court against companies that make or sell orange juice products advertised as 100 percent pure or natural when they are actually “a product of industrial processing and laboratory-flavored juices.” Veal v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 12-00804 (N.D. Ala., filed March 13, 2012). John Veal apparently alleges breach of contract and breach of warranty against each defendant on behalf of nationwide classes of consumers. According to a news source, he claims that he would not have purchased the products had he known the truth about their contents and would not have paid the higher prices charged for them. Among those sued were Simply Orange Juice Co., Tropicana Products Inc. and Winn Dixie Stores Inc. See Everything Alabama Blog, blog.al.com, March 15, 2012.
A Georgia resident has filed a complaint in federal court on behalf of a statewide class of consumers allegedly misled about the purported health benefits of POM Wonderful’s pomegranate products. Templeton v. POM Wonderful, LLC, No. 12-53 (S.D. Ga., filed February 16, 2012). According to the complaint, the company promotes its products “as having special health benefits, including but not limited to, the prevention[,] mitigation, and/or treatment of the following: (a) Atherosclerosis; (b) Blood Flow/Pressure; (c) Prostate Cancer, (d) Erectile Function; (e) Cardiovascular Disease; (f) Reduce LDL Cholesterol; (g) and other age-related medical conditions.” Citing investigations by the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the plaintiff claims that these promotions are not substantiated by medical evidence. Alleging violations of the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff…
A Pennsylvania resident has filed a putative class action in a Florida federal court seeking to represent Florida and multistate classes of consumers allegedly misled by claims that Tropicana orange juice products are “pure” and “natural.” Pederson v. PepsiCo, No. 12-00104 (M.D. Fla., filed January 18, 2012). Similar to lawsuits already filed in New Jersey and California, this complaint alleges that Tropicana branded fruit juices are extensively processed and flavored for mass-marketing purposes. Additional information about the other lawsuits appears in Issue 422 of this Update. According to the complaint, “Defendants heavily process Tropicana Orange Juice by pasteurizing, de-aerating, and storing it for long periods of time at a ‘tank farm’ and under a nitrogen blanket, which strips the juice of its flavor and aroma. Defendants then re-flavor the product with chemical ‘flavor packets’ before it is packaged into a carton and sold to the consumer.” Alleging violations of the Florida…
