Court Dismisses Clif Bar White Chocolate Suit

A California federal court has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Clif Bars misled consumers into believing their bars contained white chocolate, but it granted the plaintiffs leave to amend their allegations. Joslin v. Clif Bar & Co., No. 18-4941 (N.D. Cal., entered August 26, 2019). The court first found that the plaintiffs failed to show that they had standing to pursue injunctive relief because they did “not allege a cognizable threat of future harm,” then turned to the issue of white chocolate on the label. “Accepting Plaintiffs’ allegations as true, and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiffs, the Court concludes Plaintiffs’ allegations are not sufficient to show members of the public are likely to be deceived,” the court ruled. However, it was “not convinced at this stage that amendment would be futile,” so it granted leave to amend.