JPML Set to Hear Consolidation Requests in “All Natural” Orange Juice Lawsuits
According to a news source, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) will conduct a hearing May 31, 2012, to consider the petitions filed by two consumer groups seeking to consolidate, for pretrial proceedings, putative class actions filed in various federal district courts alleging that companies selling orange juice as “All Natural” mislead consumers because the products undergo processing to increase shelf-life. In re: Orange Juice Mktg., MDL No. 2353 (J.P.M.L., May 31, 2012, hearing); In re: Simply Orange Juice Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2361 (J.P.M.L., May 31, 2012, hearing). Additional details about the litigation appear in issues 425 and 431 of this Update. See Bloomberg BNA Product Safety & Liability Reporter, April 30, 2012.
