A putative class action filed in a California federal court against Snapple Beverage Corp. alleges that the company misleads consumers by labeling as “All Natural” products containing high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and using the names of fruits for some products that “do not contain any significant amount of the fruit listed in the product’s name.” Von Koenig v. Snapple Beverage Corp., No. 09-00337 (E.D. Cal., filed March 4, 2009). The named plaintiff seeks to certify two subclasses of California consumers “to redress Defendant’s deceptive, misleading and untrue advertising and unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business acts and practices.” One subclass would involve those who purchased the company’s “All Natural Products” that contained HFCS; the other would include those who purchased “Fruit Products . . . which included the name or picture of a fruit in the product name or label but which did not contain a substantial amount of that…
Category Archives Litigation
California consumers have filed a putative class action against Van’s International Foods and retailers Whole Foods Market California, Inc., Trader Joe’s Co., and Costco Wholesale Co., alleging that Van’s frozen waffles did not accurately state the calorie and nutrient content throughout 2007 and into 2008. Hodes v. Van’s Int’l Foods, No. 09-01530 (C.D. Cal., filed March 4, 2009). According to the complaint, which seeks certification of a nationwide class, the sale in late 2006 of the company that made Van’s frozen waffles involved a change in personnel that required “reverse engineering the recipes for Van’s existing product lines.” That process allegedly resulted in findings that the nutritional information on the product packaging “contained numerous substantial inaccuracies.” The calorie, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, and fiber content listed purportedly varied by 20 to 100 percent or more from the actual nutritional values. The plaintiffs allege that the company continued to “distribute…
The district court judge to whom this obesity-related litigation was reassigned in 2008 has dismissed motions to compel filed by plaintiffs and defendants, but has given the parties leave to renew after the court rules on motions for class certification. Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp., No. 02-7821 (S.D.N.Y., filed Sept. 30, 2002). Judge Robert Sweet recused himself from the proceedings following the pre-trial conference, held April 9, 2008, and the matter was reassigned to Judge Sidney Stein in May. The plaintiffs, a putative class of obese and overweight teens, alleged that the fast-food company misled them with deceptive ads. They are seeking damages for obesity-related health problems. Information about the lawsuit has periodically appeared in this Update since it was filed in 2002. It has been appealed twice to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, its issues have been narrowed, and it has been followed closely by consumer advocates and the food…
ConAgra Foods, Inc. has reportedly filed a lawsuit against its umbrella insurer, seeking coverage for the claims that were filed by people who alleged injury from a Salmonella outbreak in 2007 linked to the company’s Sylvester, Georgia, peanut butter processing facility. ConAgra Foods, Inc. v. Lexington Ins. Co., No. 09C-02-170 (Del. Super Ct., New Castle Cty., filed February 19, 2009). The complaint alleges that Lexington Insurance Co. has failed to pay for any of the 2,400 claims settled or resolved to date. ConAgra reportedly anticipates an additional 20,000 cases from the outbreak. According to a news source, the company is seeking a declaratory judgment, compensatory and punitive damages, interest, and attorney’s fees. See Product Liability Law 360, February 24, 2009.
Aurora Dairy Corp., which is defending multidistrict litigation involving putative class claims that it sold its products as “organic” without following national organic program standards, has sued one of its insurance carriers in federal court seeking a declaration that the insurer has wrongly failed to provide defense coverage. Aurora Dairy Corp. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Ins. Co., No. 09-00346 (D. Colo., filed February 19, 2009). According to the complaint, “Aurora has been named in thirteen consumer class actions filed in the courts of six different states.” The claimants in those lawsuits allege a variety of causes of action including “that the milk provided by Aurora that they purchased allegedly exposed them, their families and their friends to pesticides, hormones, antibodies, and other chemicals and/or has generally caused them injury or damage.” Additional details about the underlying lawsuits appear in issues 251, 279 and 286 of this Update. Aurora claims that it has…
The Peanut Corp. of America, whose Salmonella-tainted peanut butter and peanut paste products led to one of the largest food recalls in the United States, has reportedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Virginia. The day it did so, Texas health officials apparently announced a recall of all products manufactured at the company’s peanut-processing facility in that state after discovering dead rodents, droppings and bird feathers in unsealed gaps above a food production area. A Virginia plant operated by the company has also been closed. A state agriculture spokesperson reportedly said that inspectors found minor problems at the facility in 2007 and 2008, including flaking paint and evidence of rodents. Food lawyer William Marler, who has sued the company on behalf of several families allegedly affected by the Salmonella outbreak, claimed that he has hired a law firm that helped him “manage both the Chi-Chi and Topps Bankruptcies,” and…
Federal investigators seeking to crack down on corruption in California’s tomato-processing sector have apparently secured guilty pleas from two industry employees, one with a tomato paste supplier and the other with a processed tomato purchaser. Jennifer Dahlman, who worked for a California company under investigation for alleged bribery, price-fixing and mislabeling, reportedly pleaded guilty to causing the introduction of adulterated and misbranded food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud. Dahlman apparently mislabeled products that should have been discarded because of high mold content, purportedly at the direction of company managers, thus giving her company an unfair advantage over competitors and leading to increased consumer prices for processed tomato products, such as sauces, soups and salsas. While she is cooperating with authorities, Dahlman faces up to three years in prison. According to U.S. attorneys involved in the investigation, the mislabeled products posed no health hazard to consumers. James Wahl, who formerly…
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling that rejected the restaurant industry’s preemption and First Amendment challenge to New York City’s health code provision mandating that certain restaurant chains post calorie information on their menu boards. New York State Rest. Ass’n v. NYC Bd. of Health, No. 08-1892 (2d Cir., decided February 17, 2009). The rule has been in effect since July 2008 and applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 outlets nationwide. The New York State Restaurant Association contended that the rule was preempted by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act and infringed its members constitutional rights by compelling speech. According to the court, “In requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on their menus, New York City merely stepped into a sphere that Congress intentionally left open to state and local governments. Furthermore, although the restaurants are protected…
A federal court in California has denied a motion to dismiss putative class claims that Arizona Beverage Co. deceptively labels its products as “100% Natural,” “All Natural,” or “Natural,” despite using high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient. Hitt v. Arizona Beverage Co., LLC, No. 08-809 (S.D. Cal., order entered February 4, 2009). The complaint also alleges that those beverages with fruit in the name are deceptively labeled because they “do not contain any substantial amount of the fruit named on the label.” The defendants sought to dismiss claims that they violated consumer fraud statutes by contending that they are expressly and impliedly preempted under federal law. The court summarily ruled that the plaintiff’s claims were not expressly preempted because they do not fall within any of the express preemption provisions of the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act. The court also ruled that the claims were not impliedly preempted because (i) the…
Video footage of former Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. employees allegedly abusing birds has reportedly led to criminal indictments for animal abuse. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) apparently caught three turkey farm employees in the act, and 19 counts, including 11 felony charges, for cruelty to birds have been brought against them. Alabama-based Aviagen Turkeys reportedly fired all three workers for violating company policy. They could face significant jail time and fines if convicted. See meatingplace.com, February 9, 2009.
