Samuel Lightsey, who formerly managed the Peanut Corp. of America, which was implicated in a 2008-2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak, has entered a guilty plea to six of 76 criminal charges, including conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and other counts related to the distribution of adulterated or misbranded food. U.S. v. Lightsey, No. 13-CR-12 (M.D. Ga., Albany Div., plea entered May 7, 2014). Facing a potential sentence of six years in prison, Lightsey has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution. The outbreak sickened more than 700 who consumed products containing tainted peanut paste, and at least nine died. According to the plea agreement, in September 2008, Lightsey and others shipped a lot of peanut paste from the company’s Blakely, Georgia, facility “without ever having submitted a sample from said lot to a laboratory for microbiological testing.” This food was misbranded because it was accompanied by a document containing…
Category Archives U.S. Circuit Courts
Texas has filed a motion to intervene in Alamo Beer Co. LLC’s trademark infringement suit against Old 300 Brewing LLC, asserting that the state has the rights to the “Alamo” mark. Alamo Beer Co. LLC v. Old 300 Brewing LLC, No. 14-285 (W.D. Tex., motion filed April 28, 2014). Filed in March 2014, Alamo Beer’s original complaint alleged that Old 300 Brewing (doing business as Texian Brewing Co.) infringed on its mark by using the silhouette of the Alamo on Texian beer labels, which image Alamo Beer has used and federally registered as a trademark for beer labeling since 1997. Texas argues that it has registered and common law rights to the use of the Alamo Mission’s likeness in commerce. In 2013, the state began registering the Alamo silhouette in a variety of categories, including blankets, apparel, jewelry, leather goods, digital media, packaged foods, and museum services. In the category…
A federal court in the Southern District of California has transferred to the Northern District a lawsuit filed in January 2014 against Pepsico, Inc., alleging that its products violate the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65) because they contain 4 methylimidazole (4-MEI), a chemical included on the Prop. 65 list of substances known to the state to cause cancer, and the company has not provided appropriate consumer warnings. Riva v. Pepsico, Inc., No. 14-0340 (S.D. Cal., order entered April 30, 2014). Eight similar federal lawsuits against Pepsico were filed either in the Northern District or transferred there and are scheduled for a May 29, 2014, case management conference. Finding that transfer to the Northern District would promote the efficient use of judicial resources, the court granted the defendant’s motion. The plaintiffs had argued that under the first-to-file rule, all of the cases should have been…
A federal court in California has dismissed all but one claim in a putative consumer-fraud class action against The Hershey Co., finding that, based on his deposition, the plaintiff relied only on the label claims for antioxidants in making his purchasing decisions. Khasin v. The Hershey Co., No. 12-1862 (N.D. Cal., order entered May 5, 2014). Information about a prior court ruling that dismissed other claims appears in Issue 463 of this Update. The court granted the company’s motion for summary judgment as to claims made on its website or in off-label advertising and as to “any claims based on alleged misrepresentations or omissions regarding vanillin, PGPR, serving size and alkalized cocoa powder.” The court also granted summary judgment as to claims alleging a failure to make disclaimers on the company’s mint products, i.e., that they should not be substituted as an entrée, lunch or meal and that they are not…
A federal magistrate in Florida has decided that the opinion proffered by the plaintiffs’ expert in litigation challenging “brain health” marketing claims for algal-derived DHA Omega-3 fortified milk products is unreliable, thus granting the defendant’s motion to exclude it. In re Horizon Organic Milk Plus DHA Omega-3 Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 12-2324 (S.D. Fla., order entered April 28, 2014). The ruling affects claims brought by consumers in six states alleging that the defendant violated state laws by falsely claiming that the DHA in its products “Supports Brain Health” and “Supports a Healthy Brain,” and that “competent, scientific evidence shows that these claims are false.” While the court found that most of the defendant’s arguments in support of exclusion went to the weight of the testimony rather than its admissibility, it agreed that the expert failed to show how small studies involving 49 women and 658 children in the…
To settle claims that it allegedly deceived consumers by advertising and labeling its Dreamfields pasta products as a low-glycemic index and low-carbohydrate alternative to traditional pasta, Dakota Growers Pasta Co. has agreed to establish a $5-million settlement fund and pay an additional $2.9 million to plaintiffs’ counsel. Mirakay v. Dakota Growers Pasta Co., No. 13-4429 (D.N.J., motion for preliminary settlement approval filed April 14, 2014). The company has also agreed to remove the allegedly false or misleading statements from Dreamfields packaging for at least one year. Under the settlement, which requires certification of a nationwide class of consumers and approval by the court, those who purchased the pasta online will automatically receive $1.99 for every box purchased. Class members who purchased the products in stores and submit a valid claim form will be limited to reimbursement for 15 boxes of pasta. Any funds remaining will be used to adjust each…
Four former employees of T.G.I. Friday’s, Inc. have filed a putative class action against the restaurant and its parent company, Carlson Restaurants, Inc., to recover unpaid wages, including overtime compensation and unlawful deductions. Flood v. Carlson Restaurants Inc., No. 14-2740 (S.D.N.Y., filed April 17, 2014). The former employees claim that T.G.I. Friday’s managers required them to work in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. In the complaint, the employees allege that managers required tip-earning workers to do “side work” like rolling silverware, cleaning the restaurant and other tasks that did not merit them tips while the restaurant paid them at the reduced minimum wage reserved for tipped workers. They further allege that managers prevented the employees from receiving their earned overtime pay by lowering the amount of time the employees were on the clock each week to below 40 hours and that the restaurant…
A federal court in Georgia has denied a motion to sever the criminal charges filed against the former owner of the Peanut Corp. of America, linked to a 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak, from charges filed against other company employees. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-cr-12 (M.D. Ga., order entered April 24, 2014). Information about a hearing conducted to assess the reliability of the defendant’s proffered expert—retained to testify about Stewart Parnell’s purported Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder— appears in Issue 517 of this Update. The court has also continued an April 28 status conference in light of a previous ruling rescheduling the trial. Issue 521
A federal court in Missouri has determined that a man who alleges employment discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on the basis of his severe obesity has sufficiently stated his claims and may proceed with his action. Whittaker v. America’s Car-Mart, Inc., No. 13-0108 (D. Mo., order entered April 24, 2014). The plaintiff allegedly began working for the defendant in August 2005 and was discharged from his general manager position in November 2012, purportedly because of his disability. He claims that the defendant regarded him as having a physical impairment under the ADA and “as being substantially limited in a major life activity, walking, as a result of his obesity.” To support its argument that the alleged disability “is not an actual disability under the ADA unless it is related to an underlying physiological disorder or condition and that plaintiff fails to allege that his…
A federal court in California has denied the motion to certify statewide monetary or injunctive relief classes in litigation alleging that J.M. Smucker’s labels for Uncrustables and Crisco Original and Butter Flavor Shortening products “mislead consumers into believing that they are healthful, when in reality they both contain trans fat and Uncrustables also contain high fructose corn syrup.” Caldera v. The J.M. Smucker Co., No. 12-4936 (C.D. Cal., decided April 15, 2014). As to monetary relief, the court dismissed the motion to certify with prejudice. The court agreed with the defendant that the plaintiff could not satisfy the predominance requirement as to her claims for monetary relief because she failed to identify any method of proving damages on a class-wide basis other than relying on the defendant’s California sales data. According to the court, this is insufficient to support a claim for restitution, because “this is not a case where class…
