Quaker Oats Wins Dismissal of Flavored-Oatmeal Litigation

A California federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative consolidated class action alleging that Quaker Oats Co. falsely advertised its instant oatmeal as containing maple syrup, finding that the plaintiffs were unable to allege conduct not preempted by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). In re Quaker Oats Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal Litig., No. 16-1442 (C.D. Cal., entered March 8, 2018). The court previously found that flavoring claims were preempted by the FDCA and the Nutritional Labeling and Education Act, but the court also allowed the plaintiffs to replead so it could consider preemption from the standpoint of maple as a sweetener.

In its reconsideration, the court noted that, “to evade preemption at this stage, Plaintiffs would need to either allege that the Products’ labels violate the FDA’s sweetener requirements or raise claims that are not addressed by federal law.” Because the amended complaint did not allege violations of specific federal laws or raise other claims, the court again found that all counts were preempted by the FDCA and denied leave to amend.