The Finnish Market Court has reportedly backed MS Iceland Dairies in a legal dispute with Arla Foods over the sale of skyr dairy products in Finland. According to media reports, the court ruled that “skyr” is not a generic term for a yogurt-like cultured dairy product, but rather a specific trademark for a product made in Iceland or Denmark according to recipes held by MS Iceland Dairies. The decision bars Arla Foods from marketing or selling skyr in Finland, with violations fetching fines of €500,000. See Iceland Monitor, October 7, 2015; FoodBev.com, October 13, 2015. Issue 582
Category Archives Litigation
A jury has awarded two Muslim men $240,000 after they were fired from Star Transport Inc. for refusing to transport beer because of their religious beliefs. EEOC v. Star Transport Inc., No. 13-1240 (C.D. Ill., jury verdict submitted October 21, 2015). Each man will receive $20,000 for mental or emotional pain and $100,000 in punitive damages. The court also awarded each $1,500 in back pay. "We are pleased that the jury recognized that these—and all—employees are entitled to observe and practice their faith, no matter what that might be," EEOC Supervisory Trial Attorney Diane Smason said in an October 22, 2015, press release. Issue 582
Subway has reached a settlement agreement in a case alleging its "footlong" sandwiches were not 12 inches in length. In re Subway Footlong Sandwich Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2439 (E.D. Wis., settlement agreement filed September 29, 2015). Under the agreement, Subway will require its franchisees to "use a tool for measuring bread in each Subway® restaurant to help ensure that the bread sold to customers is either 6 or 12 inches long" and will check for compliance during its monthly franchise inspections, with an increase in penalties for failure to measure up. If the court approves the agreement, Subway will pay each class representative $1,000 and the class counsel's attorney fees of $525,000, but no monetary awards will be distributed to class members. Additional information about the lawsuit appears in Issues 468 and 487 of this Update. Issue 582
Whole Foods Market Group and a consumer have reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit alleging the company defrauded customers by calculating and adding sales tax to purchases before deducting any discounts from coupons. Wong v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp., No. 15-0848 (N.D. Ill., stipulation filed October 12, 2015). The parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal to the court but did not disclose the agreement's terms. The lawsuit is one of several alleging claims of consumer fraud, common law fraud and unjust enrichment against various retailers. Issue 582
A Florida federal court has given final approval to the settlement agreement in a lawsuit alleging Anheuser-Busch falsely advertised its Beck's® beer as imported even though it was manufactured in St. Louis, Mo. Marty v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No. 13-23656 (S.D. Fla., approval entered October 20, 2015). Under the agreement, Anheuser-Busch will offer refunds in several tiers, including $0.10 per individual bottle, $0.50 per six-pack and $1.75 per 20-pack, with a cap of $50 per household for those consumers with receipts and $12 for those without. The company will also add language to Beck's® packaging indicating the beer is a "Product of USA." Additional details about the settlement appear in Issue 570 of this Update. Issue 582
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to compel the agency to act on the advocacy group’s 2005 citizen petition requesting regulations about the use of salt as a food additive. Ctr. for Sci. in Pub. Interest v. FDA, No. 15-1651 (D.D.C., filed October 8, 2015). The petition called for FDA to revoke salt’s status as generally recognized as safe, amend prior approvals of salt use, require food manufacturers to reduce sodium levels in processed foods, and mandate labeling messages about the health effects of salt in foods containing more than half an ounce of the substance. The complaint alleges that while “[n]early all Americans consume more sodium than is safe,” “[c]onsumers can exert relatively little control over their sodium intake by adjusting discretionary use of salt” because such use amounts to only 5 to 10…
The European Union’s General Court has rejected an appeal to register “Halloumi” and its Greek alphabet equivalent as Community Trade Marks, deeming the terms descriptive of the cheese product. Republic of Cyprus v. Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Mkt., Nos. T-292/14 and T-293/14 (Gen. Ct., order entered October 7, 2015). The application would have granted trademark protection for “Halloumi” within the European Union. Halloumi is set to receive Protected Designation of Origin status as a cheese produced on the island of Cyprus after the European Commission published the application to register the name in July 2015. As a trademark, however, the term is merely descriptive of the cheese product, the court found. “[T]he applicant acknowledges that the marks applied for have always been perceived by Cypriot consumers and by consumers across the European Union as referring to a particular type of cheese exported from Cyprus, made in a certain…
A California federal court has dismissed without leave to amend several claims in a lawsuit alleging that Whole Foods Market fraudulently and misleadingly labeled its 365 Everyday Value ketchup, oatmeal and chicken broth as containing “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) rather than “sugar.” Pratt v. Whole Food Mkt. Cal., Inc., No. 12-5652 (N.D. Cal., San Jose Div., order entered September 30, 2015). The plaintiff alleged that because Whole Foods failed to use the most common name for the ingredient—as mandated by U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules—the products were misbranded and “cannot be legally sold, possessed, have no economic value, and are legally worthless.” The court first dismissed strict liability allegations, finding that the plaintiff sought to impose a requirement inconsistent with federal law. Turning to the plausibility of the plaintiff’s allegations, the court found his reliance claims contradictory because one claim required him to know nothing about ECJ while the…
A California federal court has granted Foster Farms’ request for declaratory judgment finding that Lloyd’s of London must cover $14 million in costs related to a Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms’ chicken processing facilities. Foster Poultry Farms Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London, No. 14-0446 (E.D. Cal., order entered October 9, 2015). Foster Farms’ policy with the insurer included coverage for “Accidental Contamination,” requiring the company to show (i) “an error in the production of its chicken product” and (ii) that consumption of the product “‘would ‘lead to’ bodily injury.” Lloyd’s challenged Foster Farms’ showing of the latter requirement, arguing the destroyed products were not actually contaminated with Salmonella. The court concluded the company had shown the products were contaminated because at the time the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Safety Inspection Service issued its Notice of Suspension, Foster Farms’ products had tested positive for Salmonella for…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected Stanislaus Food Products Co.’s attempt to revive a lawsuit alleging that several major manufacturers of tin cans conspired to cede the market to a single company, USS-POSCO Industries (UPI). Stanislaus Food Prods. Co. v. USS-POSCO Industries, No. 13-15475 (9th Cir., order entered October 13, 2015). “This appeal, which centers on tin mill products used to package food, teaches that there’s no substitute for concrete evidence,” the decision begins. Stanislaus, a tomato cannery, alleged that UPI, a joint venture of U.S. Steel and POSCO America Steel Corp., conspired with other tin mill producers to allocate the tin can market to UPI and fix the prices of tin mill products. Stanislaus cited the fact that POSCO never entered the western U.S. market as evidence of conspiracy; the court considered the practicality of the allegations and found them lacking. “A scheme like Stanislaus alleges would not…
