The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) and Compassion Over Killing have reportedly filed a complaint in a California federal court against the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Trade Commission claiming that the agencies have failed to regulate animal-welfare labeling on egg cartons. According to ALDF, rulemaking petitions were filed in 2006 and 2007 asking for egg production methods to be fully disclosed on every carton of eggs sold in the United States. The agencies have not only allegedly failed to take action on these requests, they have also apparently failed to take action against “the often-misleading claims and deceptive imagery widely found on egg cartons.” The plaintiffs seek a court order requiring the agencies to adopt rules that would mandate that producers clearly label their egg cartons with egg production methods, including “Eggs from Caged Hens.” See ALDF News Release, March 28, 2013.
Category Archives Litigation
A federal court in California has dismissed with prejudice a complaint filed by groups concerned about ducks force-fed to produce foie gras against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), seeking to compel FSIS to ban force-fed foie gras from the human food supply as adulterated and diseased. Animal League Def. Fund v. USDA, No. 12-4028 (U.S. Dist. Ct., C.D. Cal., decided March 22, 2013). FSIS denied a petition to take such action, and the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit to challenge the legality of that denial under the Administrative Procedure Act. According to the court, while an agency’s denial of a petition for rulemaking can be challenged in court, the plaintiffs here did not ask FSIS to promulgate a new rule. “Though titled ‘PETITION FOR RULEMAKING,’ Plaintiffs’ request seeks to ban force-fed foie gras under existing law and regulations: it is not a…
According to a news source, U.K. High Court Justice Michael Briggs has ordered New York-based Chobani to change its “Greek” yogurt labels, finding that they mislead more than 50 percent of British consumers into believing that it was made in Greece. Company rival Fage brought the lawsuit to “restrain Chobani from passing off its American-made yoghurt in England and Wales under the description Greek yoghurt.” The court apparently determined that “the very small print used on the rear of Chobani’s pots” stating that the products are made in the United States was “nowhere near sufficient” to alert people to their true origin. Chobani claimed that the “Greek” designation was a reference to how the product is made and not to its country of origin. Danone, which also makes the thickened, strained yogurt products, reportedly indicated that it was considering the implications of the ruling; it was temporarily barred in the…
Since the federal government filed a 76-count indictment against the owner and managers of Peanut Corp. of America, the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009, the defendants have entered not guilty pleas and been released on bonds ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-12 (M.D. Ga., Albany Div., filed February 15, 2013). Additional details about the charges appear in Issue 472 of this Update. The court has also entered orders designating the case as complex and excluding time under the Speedy Trial Act, as well as setting a scheduling conference for April 22, 2013.
POM Wonderful LLC has filed a petition seeking review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order requiring two randomized, controlled clinical trials before the company can make a claim that its pomegranate juice products treat, prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease, prostate cancer or erectile dysfunction. POM Wonderful LLC v. FTC, No. 13-1060 (D.C. Cir., filed March 8, 2013). In its January ruling, FTC found that the company made false and misleading claims by advertising its products with health-benefit assertions that POM contended were backed by medical research. Additional information about the FTC rulings in the case appears in issues 441 and 467 of this Update.
Beekeepers, environmentalists and advocacy organizations have filed an action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claiming that the agency has failed to take any regulatory action on pesticide products containing the active ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Administrative Procedure Act. Ellis v. EPA, No. 13-1266 (N.D. Cal., filed March 21, 2013). According to the complaint, “In a vast and extremely risky experiment, EPA has allowed over two million pounds of clothianidin and thiamethoxam to be used annually on more than 100 million acres and on dozens of different plant corps without adhering to existing procedural frameworks and with no adequate risk assessments in place.” The plaintiffs allege that this inaction has “been a major factor in excessive honey bee mortality and the decline of pollinator populations in the same…
A federal court in California has dismissed as preempted putative class claims filed against Target Corp. and Honeytree, Inc., alleging that they retail and manufacture honey products falsely advertised as “honey” or “pure honey” despite the absence of all pollen, an allegedly “defining characteristic of honey under applicable law.” Cardona v. Target Corp., No. 12-1148 (C.D. Cal., decided March 20, 2013). The court rejected the defendants’ challenge to the plaintiff’s standing, finding that she had sufficiently alleged an injury under Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court, 51 Cal. 4th 310 (2011). But the court determined that the claims were preempted under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, agreeing with the defendants that the plaintiff “cannot plausibly allege that ‘pollen’ is a ‘characterizing ingredient’ of ‘honey,’ and that the ‘common and usual name’ of honey is honey, irrespective of pollen content.” According to the court, “the requirement that pollen-less honey be labeled as…
Pennsylvania residents have filed a putative statewide class action in federal court against the company that makes 5-Hour ENERGY® drinks, claiming that they are promoted as a “healthy vitamin-filled energy drink” but are “nothing more than a shot of caffeine.” Thompson v. Innovation Ventures, LLC, No. 13-336 (W.D. Pa., filed March 7, 2013). The plaintiffs allege that label representations—“Hours of energy now—no crash later” and “Sugar free”—send a message to consumers that the product “will provide five hours of sustained energy within minutes without experiencing any negative ‘crash’ side effects later.” To the contrary, they claim, this “no crash later” representation is false “as admitted on the Defendant’s website and hidden in microscopic language on the back of the bottle which reads: ‘No crash means no sugar crash.’” According to the complaint, more than 25 percent of product users “suffer a caffeine crash.” Claiming purely economic losses and seeking class…
In a nonprecedential summary order, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling against Kosher Sports, Inc., a New Jersey-based provider of kosher food products, which had a 10-year contract with Queens Ballpark Co., the company that operates Citi Field, where the New York Mets play their home games. Kosher Sports, Inc. v. Queens Ballpark Co., LLC, No. 12-2162 (2d Cir., decided March 12, 2013). Kosher Sports claimed that the operating company breached the agreement by refusing to allow it to sell Glatt Kosher hot dogs and sausages and other products on Friday nights and Saturdays. It also claimed that Queens Ballpark failed to provide a suitable location for the company’s fourth cart to sell its products at the stadium. The court found that the unambiguous terms of the contract simply “set forth [Kosher Sports’] ‘rights’ to advertising space, tickets, and freedom from competition” but did…
According to a news source, a Michigan judge has lifted a gag order imposed on an attorney who posted information on his Facebook page critical of a proposed settlement of claims that a McDonald’s Corp. franchisee sold as halal certain chicken products without complying with Islamic standards; the court has also granted his request to reopen the class period thus extending the time for class members to object, intervene or opt out. Ahmed v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 11-014559 (Mich. Cir. Ct., Wayne Cty., order entered March 12, 2013). Additional information about the case and attorney Majed Moughni’s claims of unlawful prior restraint appears in issues 468, 471 and 473 of this Update. In her supplemental notice, Judge Kathleen Macdonald notes, “[a]s you probably know, there was a great deal of attention given to this proposed settlement from the news media (newspapers, television, radio and internet sources) and in social media. For…
