The named plaintiff who brought a putative class action for false advertising of healthy menu items against a company that operates chain restaurants across the United States has reportedly agreed to dismiss with prejudice the claims she filed in a federal court in Texas. Paskett v. Brinker Int’l Inc., No. 08-942 (N.D. Tex., dismissed April 20, 2009). The plaintiff alleged that the healthy menu items at Chili’s Grill & Bar, Romano’s Macaroni Grill and On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina restaurants actually contained higher levels of fat, calories and total carbohydrates than listed on the menus. The named plaintiff has filed similar claims in California against Applebee’s parent company, alleging that she dined at these restaurants because they offered a Weight Watchers menu, which was also purportedly advertised and marketed inaccurately. See LexisNexis® Mealey’s™ Litigation Report, Food Liability, May 2009.
Category Archives Litigation
Courts in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have approved a nationwide settlement of claims filed by those allegedly affected by consuming Listeria-tainted meat products produced by Maple Leaf Foods. The 2008 outbreak reportedly sickened 57 people in seven Canadian provinces, and the Listeria strain was purportedly ruled to be the “underlying or contributing cause” in the death of 22 of them. Anyone who consumed the products, estimated at 5,200, may submit a claim for compensation. With symptoms lasting no longer than 48 hours and with no medical proof, claimants can recover $750. With physical symptoms lasting longer than 48 hours and with medical proof, claimants are eligible to recover $3,000 to $125,000. Psychological trauma, with medical proof, will be compensated at $2,000 to $17,500. Those who wish to recover under the compensation scheme must submit their claims no later than November 2, 2009. Those who plan to pursue other legal claims against…
A Texas resident has filed a putative class action in a New Jersey federal court against the manufacturer of a fruit blend, which he alleges is falsely advertised as a product that helps control blood pressure and flush sodium. Slaughter v. Unilever United States, Inc., No. 09-2072 (D.N.J., filed May 1, 2009). At issue is Unilever’s SuperShots®, a fruit blend in three flavors sold in small “shot”-sized bottles. Each contains 350 mg of potassium and is allegedly promoted as a functional food that “will enable consumers to help control blood pressure and flush sodium from their bodies.” According to the complaint, the product does not have this effect and has not been subjected to any clinical trials. The plaintiff seeks to certify a nationwide class of product purchasers and alleges violations of New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, breach of implied and express warranties and unjust enrichment. He seeks restitution, disgorgement, monetary…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has intervened in a qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit filed in California by the Humane Society of the United States against two former suppliers to the National School Lunch Program. The suit alleges that Hallmark Meat Packing Co. and Westland Meat Co., Inc. knowingly and falsely represented that cattle at their slaughtering facility were treated humanely and that beef supplied to the schools did not include meat from disabled, non-ambulatory animals. Videotape of employees abusing non-ambulatory animals at the slaughterhouse resulted in the recall of 143 million pounds of beef in February 2008. Under the False Claims Act, private parties, or “relators,” may file claims on behalf of the U.S. government and may recover a portion of any recovery. The government, which will file an amended complaint now that it is a party to the action, is entitled to treble damages and civil penalties of…
A federal court in New Jersey has reportedly refused to seal information about a proposed settlement involving putative class claims that the manufacturers of “Pirate’s Booty” and “Veggie Booty” food products misrepresented their nutritional labeling information. Schatz-Bernstein v. Keystone Food Prods., Inc., No. 08-3079 (D.N.J., order entered April 17, 2009). The snacks were allegedly marketed as containing only 2.5 grams of fat and 120 calories per serving, when they actually contained nearly four times the fat and were 25 percent higher in calories. The plaintiff alleges breach of express warranty, unjust enrichment and a violation of consumer protection laws. According to a news source, the defendants sought to seal settlement details that the plaintiff allegedly published improperly. The plaintiff has apparently maintained that the defendants reneged on the agreement. Denying the defendants’ motion to seal, the court reportedly ruled that the defendants wrongly classified their settlement discussions with the court…
A federal court in Illinois, presiding over consolidated multidistrict litigation claims against McDonald’s Corp. for allegedly advertising its French fries as gluten-, wheat- and dairy-free while actually using small amounts of hydrolyzed wheat bran and casein in them, has denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification. In re McDonald’s French Fries Litig., MDL No. 1784 (N.D. Ill., decided May 6, 2009. The court determined that the class definition was indefinite and overbroad, the proposed class would be unmanageable, and individual issues would predominate over common ones. The plaintiffs, who alleged violations of all 50 states’ and the District of Columbia’s consumer fraud and/or deceptive trade practices acts, breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment, sought to certify a nationwide class of all persons “who purchased Potato Products from McDonald’s restaurants on or after February 27, 2002 through February 7, 2006 and who at the time of purchase had been medically diagnosed with…
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing that those presenting false identification documents to employers knew they actually belonged to another real person. According to Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the unanimous Court, the law was intended to crack down on classic identity theft, for example, where a defendant uses another person’s information to get access to that person’s bank account. Prosecutors have been using the law, which calls for a mandatory prison term, against immigrant workers to get them to plead guilty to lesser immigration charges and accept prompt deportation. After the Court issued its ruling on May 4, 2009, the manager of a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, raided in May 2008, sought to withdraw her plea to a charge of aggravated identity theft for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get jobs at the plant with documents she knew…
An independent special litigation committee (SLC) recently filed a comprehensive report detailing the actions of Chiquita Brands International executives, directors and counsel that led to the $25 million settlement of a Justice Department investigation into the company’s illegal payments to Colombian terrorist groups. The SLC recommends that shareholder litigation stemming from the payments, settlement and purported “fire sale” of the company’s Colombian banana business be dismissed because the SLC found no evidence that any defendant acted in bad faith. The SLC also found that the litigation will inflict “substantial further damage on the Company,” the costs outweigh any potential recovery, “an event of this nature is unlikely to recur,” and the shareholder litigation “would serve to further divert management from its core mission.” The report explains that payments were made to both right-wing and left-wing groups in Colombia to protect the company’s workers and property. Until the recipients were declared…
According to a news source, Monsanto has filed a lawsuit challenging the German government’s decision to prohibit farmers from planting the company’s genetically modified (GM) corn. Designed to produce a substance toxic to the corn borer pest, the GM seed has been permitted in Germany since 2005, and the corn has been used in Europe for animal feed since 1998. Earlier in April 2009, Germany’s agriculture minister, saying she had “legitimate reasons” to believe the corn is an environmental hazard, put a halt to plans to use the GM seed on nearly 9,000 acres in eastern states this year. Monsanto contends that the ban is arbitrary and could only be imposed as to approved plants if new scientific evidence comes to light. Other European countries have banned the GM seed, although the European Food Safety Authority concluded that studies surfacing in 2008 did “not present new scientific evidence that would…
The pesticide-exposure claims of Nicaraguan banana-plantation workers were dismissed in two cases after a hearing that began April 21, 2009, in a state court in Los Angeles, California. Meija v. Dole Food Co., No. BC340049 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.); Rivera v. Dole Food Co., No. BC379820 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.). Additional details about the events leading to the court’s show-cause order and hearing appear in issue 297 of this Update. The court agreed with Dole Food Co. allegations that Nicaraguan lawyers, seeking to collect millions of dollars in damages from the company, recruited poor men to pose as plantation workers and claim that pesticide exposure caused their sterility. Dole introduced evidence showing a decade-long conspiracy to defraud U.S. companies and perpetuate a massive fraud on the court. Dole alleged that the attorneys intimidated witnesses and paid plaintiffs, showed them videos depicting plantation life, falsified sterility documents,…
