Seeking to represent everyone who purchased a mahi mahi dish in Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grills throughout California, four Los Angeles County residents have filed suit alleging that the menu items do not contain mahi mahi fish as advertised. Chenier v. Sharky’s Franchise Group, LLC, No. 30-2012-00587784 (Cal. Super. Ct., filed July 31, 2012). The plaintiffs claim that they would not have purchased the products had they known the products were not made with mahi mahi. They allege violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, negligent and intentional misrepresentation, and breach of express warranty, and seek disgorgement, restitution, public disclosure, injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
Daniele International, Inc. has requested that a federal court in Rhode Island enter a $33.1 million default judgment against a spice and seasonings company that allegedly supplied the Salmonella-tainted pepper which resulted in a recall of more than 1.2 million pounds of salami products in 2010. Daniele Int’l, Inc. v. Wholesome Spice & Seasonings, Inc., No. 10-1558 (D.R.I., motion filed July 30, 2012). The defendant has purportedly failed to respond to the complaint or to Daniele’s motion for entry of default. The plaintiff contends that its damages totaled $33,181,174.
University of Melbourne researchers have reportedly demonstrated that viruses from two live-attenuated poultry vaccines have combined in the field to produce new infectious viruses “responsible for widespread disease in Australian commercial poultry flocks.” Sang-Won Lee, et al., “Attenuated Vaccines Can Recombine to Form Virulent Field Viruses,” Science, July 2012. According to a July 13, 2012, press release, two vaccines used simultaneously in chickens to control laryngotracheitis (ILT), an acute respiratory disease, apparently produced two new recombinant viruses that scientists then identified using whole-genome sequencing. Previous studies had apparently suggested that such recombination could happen under laboratory conditions but was unlikely in field settings. “We alerted the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) to our findings and they are now working closely with our research team, vaccine registrants and the poultry industry to determine both short and long term regulatory actions,” a study co-author was quoted as saying. “Short-term measures include…
The American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources will hold a teleconference on July 31, 2012, titled “California’s Proposed GM Food Labeling Law: Pros, Cons, and Legal Issues.” A panel of speakers, including the Center for Food Safety’s George Kimbrell and the Global Environmental Ethics Counsel’s Thomas Redick, will consider the latest information on this ballot proposal, the current status of genetically modified (GM) food labeling laws elsewhere and information about pending federal initiatives relating to the labeling of biotech food products. See The U.S. Agricultural & Food Law & Policy Blog, July 12, 2012.
According to news sources, human-services authorities in Victoria have sought protection for extremely obese children on at least two occasions in 2012, arguing to children’s court magistrates that they would be unable to lose weight in their parents’ care. One case reportedly involved a preteen boy who weighed more than 240 pounds and a teenage girl with a 66½-inch waist that was greater than her height; she had apparently gained 66 pounds over 18 months. The public is divided about whether weight management is an appropriate reason for removing children from their homes, and at least one obesity expert, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Associate Professor John Dixon, suggested that more cases like this can be expected. Dixon said that removal can be the best option in some cases, although he acknowledged that obesity “can be the result of a whole range of environmental issues, the food, the lack of…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has sent a July 18, 2012, letter to the chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation SKG, criticizing the studio’s decision to license its popular film characters to food companies. Focusing on the recent film Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, the consumer group cited tie-ins “with multiple companies and retailers” that allegedly market food products to children, but singled out DreamWorks’ partnership with Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. as particularly problematic because the snack manufacturer is not currently a member of the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). “DreamWorks characters from Madagascar 3 are depicted on the packages of Nekot Cookies and Sandwich Crackers, which are of poor nutritional value,” alleges CSPI, which has also called on Snyder’s-Lance to apply nutrition standards “to 100% of the company’s marketing, not only via television, print, radio, Internet, and mobile devices, but…
Suggesting that soft drinks are associated with “addictive mechanisms,” a coalition of nearly 100 federal, state and local public health organizations and individuals have added their voices to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s, urging the U.S. Surgeon General to “prepare a Report on the health effects of sugary drinks and to issue a Call to Action so spur national efforts to reduce sugary drink consumption.” Further details on the Network’s letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appear in Issue 446 of this Update. Citing risks to young people’s health and national security interests, the latest correspondence claims that sugary drinks “have become a routine, daily beverage for tens of millions of Americans” and they are “aggressively marketed, especially to young consumers and minorities, in both traditional and digital media, and in event sponsorships.” The July 19, 2012, letter suggests that a Surgeon…
According to a news source, a Los Angeles Superior Court has dismissed a putative class action seeking damages against One World Enterprises LLC for allegedly misleading consumers about the nutritional value and hydrating properties of its coconut water product. Shenkman v. One World Enters. LLC, No. BC467165 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., dismissed on July 18, 2012). The court apparently agreed with the defendant that part of the plaintiff’s case involved a product representation that was simply “puffery” and stated that marketing a product’s “superior” hydrating power “is not actionable because consumers are used to hearing advertisers make general boasts and were not born yesterday.” The court dismissed the case without prejudice to give the plaintiff an opportunity to replead state-based fraud and false advertising claims about the product’s allegedly false nutritional label. According to the court, the plaintiff “correctly notes federal law will not preempt his claim if the label…
Organizations representing the interests of Asian Americans have filed suit in a federal court in California against the governor and agency officials seeking a declaration that legislation enacted in October 2011 banning the “possession, sale, offer for sale, distribution, or trade of shark fins” violates their members’ equal protection rights, unlawfully interferes with interstate commerce and preempts federal law, and deprives them of rights, privileges and immunities under the U.S. Constitution. Chinatown Neighborhood Assn. v. Brown, No. 12-3759 (N.D. Cal., filed July 18, 2012). According to the complaint, “Shark fins are used within the Chinese American community to make the traditional dish, shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is a cultural delicacy with origins dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). It is a ceremonial centerpiece of traditional Chinese banquets as well as celebrations of weddings and birthdays of one’s elders. Shark fin soup serves as a traditional symbol…
Restaurant trade organizations, an Oregon restaurant and one of its employees, a server, have filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), alleging that its interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, forbidding restaurants from distributing a share of tips to non-tipped employees, regardless of whether the restaurants use the tips as a credit toward paying their employees minimum wage, conflicts with a Ninth Circuit decision and will force the restaurants to incur significant costs or subject them to litigation. Or. Restaurant & Lodging Ass’n v. Solis, No. 12-01261 (D. Or., filed July 12, 2012). According to the Ninth Circuit ruling, restaurants can require that tips be shared with back-of-house and other non-tipped restaurant employees where the wait staff are paid at least full minimum wage and the restaurants do not take a tip credit. Cumby v. Woody Woo, Inc., No. 08-35718 (9th Cir.…
