Pomegranate Juice Dispute Allowed to Proceed

A federal court in California has denied the motion to dismiss filed by Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. in litigation filed by Pom Wonderful LLC alleging that the company’s false advertising for a cranberry-pomegranate juice violates federal and state law and constitutes unfair competition. Pom Wonderful LLC v. Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., No. 09-00565 (C.D. Cal., decided July 16, 2009). Pom Wonderful alleges that Ocean Spray’s product contains little pomegranate juice, costs less to produce and thus unfairly competes with its own and other competitors’ pomegranate juices. The complaint also contends that marketing the Ocean Spray product as high in antioxidants misrepresents the product because “in fact the Beverage does not contain high levels of antioxidants.”

The court rejected Ocean Spray’s assertions that (i) the false advertising claims brought under the Lanham Act are precluded or barred by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations; (ii) federal law expressly or impliedly preempts Pom Wonderful’s state law claims; and (iii) the complex labeling issues raised fall within the FDA’s jurisdiction and should therefore be referred to that agency for resolution under the primary jurisdiction doctrine. The court examined the respective interests protected under the two federal laws and concluded that, while the laws overlap, plaintiff’s essential claim—that Defendant’s label misrepresents the primary ingredients of the beverage—does not rely “on a determination by the FDA or an interpretation of its regulations.”