The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has alleged that Twinings North America Inc. misleads consumers by representing its tea products as "pure" and "natural" despite containing traces of pesticides. Organic Consumers Ass'n v. Twinings N. Am. Inc., No. 2019 CA 4412 (D.C. Super. Ct., filed July 5, 2019). The advocacy group alleges that "[t]ests conducted by an independent laboratory using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry revealed the presence of thiacloprid in the Green Tea at levels of up to 0.156 milligrams per kilogram" and argues that Twinings knowingly misrepresents its products as "pure" to appeal to consumers looking for pesticide-free products. For an alleged violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, OCA seeks an injunction, costs and attorney's fees.
Category Archives U.S. Circuit Courts
An Illinois federal court has dismissed part of a lawsuit alleging that Barilla America Inc. misleads consumers about whether its sauce contains preservatives because it contains citric acid. Kubulius v. Barilla Am Inc., No. 19-6656 (N.D. Ill., E. Div., entered July 2, 2019). The court declined to apply Illinois law, finding that the plaintiff's claim was based "on a single statement he claims to have seen on a single product label during a straightforward retail purchase transacted in New York." Further, the court noted, "apparent from the complaint is that plaintiff's statutory and common law consumer fraud claims cannot feasibly be maintained as a nationwide class action" because the asserted laws in each state are different. The court allowed the plaintiff's New York fraud claims to continue.
Children's Health Defense, an organization founded and chaired by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has filed a lawsuit alleging that Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. misrepresents its baby-food products as "100% natural" despite containing pesticide residues. Children's Health Def. v. Beech-Nut Nutrition Co., No. 2019 CA 4475 (D.C. Super. Ct., filed July 8, 2019). The organization alleges that Beech-Nut markets its products as "100% natural," which the company website apparently defines as "simple, all-natural ingredients from places that nurture their fruits and vegetables and care about their quality. We never use artificial preservatives—nobody really needs modified starch, salt or harsh spices, especially babies. … We're not a fan of pesticides; our internal standards are significantly stricter than federal requirements." The complaint asserts that an independent laboratory tested the products and found pesticide residues in several varieties. The organization alleges a cause of action under the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act and…
The Scotch Whisky Association has filed a lawsuit alleging that the name of Virginia Distillery Co.'s Virginia-Highland Whisky misleads consumers into believing the alcohol beverage is a product of Scotland. Scotch Whisky Ass'n v. Va. Distillery Co., No. 19-1264 (D. Del., filed July 8, 2019). The complaint asserts the Virginia Distillery Co. product is described as "Whisky from Scotland married with Virginia Whisky," allegedly violating federal regulations prohibiting the use of "words commonly associated with Scotland to designate any product not wholly produced in Scotland," including "Highland" and "Highlands." The association seeks an injunction, a recall, fees and costs for allegations of false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.
A California federal court has dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit alleging that Trader Joe's Co.'s "pure manuka honey" was "adulterated by the inclusion of cheaper honey." Moore v. Trader Joe's Co., No. 18-4418 (N.D. Cal., entered June 24, 2019). The court's decision notes a transcript from oral argument in which the plaintiff explained, "[T]here could be other flowers in the immediate area where the manuka flowers are. So the bees are not just going to the manuka flowers. They are going to the clover flowers. They are going to the … dandelions and they are all coming back to - to store the nectar in the same hive and so it's already adulterated when it gets into the hive." "In sum, Plaintiffs clarified that their adulteration theory is premised on the bees visiting different floral sources and returning to the hive resulting in a lower manuka pollen count, rather than…
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging that Tropicana Manufacturing Co. misrepresents its orange juice as "natural" because it contains a variation of malic acid that can be used as an artificial flavoring ingredient. Johnson v. Tropicana Mfg. Co. Inc., No. 19-1164 (S.D. Cal., filed June 20, 2019). The complaint, echoing similar actions filed by the same plaintiff's firm against other companies, alleges that the ingredient "malic acid" on the product's ingredient list is not the naturally occurring l-malic acid but rather d-l malic acid, which "is manufactured in petrochemical plants from benzene or butane—components of gasoline and lighter fluid, respectively—through a series of chemical reactions, some of which involve highly toxic chemical precursors and byproducts." The plaintiff alleges violations of California's consumer-protection laws and seeks class certification, restitution, damages, corrective advertising and attorney's fees.
A California federal court has entered a consent decree compelling the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate a list of high-risk foods as required by the Food Safety Modernization Act. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Azar, No. 18-6299 (N.D. Cal., entered June 7, 2019). The decree is the result of a lawsuit brought by the Center for Food Safety and Center for Environmental Health seeking to compel the agency to promulgate a list of "high-risk foods for which additional recordkeeping requirements are appropriate and necessary to protect the public health" as well as host the list on the FDA website. The decree lists deadlines for FDA to meet—including September 8, 2020, for the designation—but allows the agency to seek extensions if it needs one "despite FDA's best efforts (meaning commitment of agency time, money, energy, and resources that FDA reasonably anticipates will result in meeting the schedule in…
A New Jersey federal court has denied class certification to a plaintiff challenging Tropicana's marketing representations of its juice as "pure" and "natural." In re Tropicana Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., No. 11-7382 (D.N.J., entered June 19, 2019). The court first denied certification for a New York class because the plaintiff only purchased Tropicana in California, then it turned to the requirement of predominance. "Plaintiff has not demonstrated that a uniform misrepresentation was made to the class sufficient to satisfy predominance as to the '100% pure and natural orange juice,' '100% pure,' '100% natural,' '100% juice' 'fresh,' 'grove to glass,' 'squeezed from fresh oranges,' 'straight-from-the-orange,' and Orange/Straw labels," the court found. "[T]he Court would be required to perform an individualized inquiry into each product purchased to determine what combinations of labels were visible before determining whether that combination is deceiving to a reasonable consumer. These variations are the…
A former vice president of National Beverage Corp. has alleged that he was fired because he objected to the company president's intention to use cans lined with bisphenol A (BPA) while marketing its LaCroix products as natural and BPA-free. Dejewski v. Nat'l Beverage Corp., No. PAS-L-1802-19 (N.J. Super. Ct., Passaic Cty., filed June 6, 2019). The complaint alleges that Albert Dejewski was fired in retaliation for objecting to Joseph Caporella's plan to "prematurely announce" that the company's LaCroix cans would be BPA-free; Dejewski argues that Caporella knew LaCroix would not be sold in BPA-free cans until "at a minimum 4-6 months" after the announcement. Dejewski seeks damages under New Jersey's whistleblower-protection law.
A plaintiff has alleged that Danone North America misleads consumers by labeling its Dannon and Oikos yogurts as featuring "vanilla with other natural flavors" because the products contain "less vanilla flavor derived from vanilla beans than their name suggests." Andriulli v. Danone N. Am., No. 19-5165 (S.D.N.Y., filed June 2, 2019). The plaintiff asserts that the product flavor "should be labeled 'Vanilla-Vanillin Extract/Flavoring/Powder, Imitation' so consumers are not misled as to the flavor of the Products." Further, the complaint states, Oikos vanilla-flavored yogurt includes beta carotene, which "has the effect of modifying the color of the product closer to the color consumers associate with a product flavored exclusively by vanilla bean components — a tanner, darker shade like in the following stock image." The complaint then features a light orange square. "This coloring makes the consumer less likely to question or probe into the amount and type of vanilla flavor…
