A federal court in California has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action filed in March 2012 against the companies that make a line of SoBe® beverages known as 0 Calories Lifewater®. Hairston v. S. Beach Beverage Co., Inc., No. 12-1429 (C.D. Cal., decided May 18, 2012). Further details about the case appear in Issue 429 of this Update. According to the court, state-law consumer-fraud claims based on the use of fruit names to describe the different Lifewater flavors and the use of common vitamin names instead of the vitamins’ chemical names are preempted by federal law which allows both types of labeling. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, said the court, “explicitly permit manufacturers ‘to use the name and images of a fruit on a product’s packaging to describe the characterizing flavor of the product even where the product does not contain any of that fruit, or contains no fruit…
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A California resident has filed a putative class action against a company that sells Greek-style yogurt products labeled with the terms “evaporated cane juice,” “All Natural Ingredients” or “Only Natural Ingredients,” claiming that they are false and misleading. Kane v. Chobani, Inc., No. 12-2425 (N.D. Cal., filed May 14, 2012). According to plaintiff Katie Kane, the company includes on the ingredients list for some of its yogurt products the term “evaporated cane juice,” which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned other companies is false and misleading, and uses phrases containing the word “natural” despite making the yogurt with artificial ingredients, flavorings and colorings, such as “fruit or vegetable juice concentrate.” She contends that these product representations “mislead consumers into paying a premium price for inferior or undesirable ingredients” and “render products misbranded under federal and California law.” Seeking to certify a statewide class of consumer, the plaintiff alleges…
A federal court in Maryland has dismissed, under the first-to-file rule, a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff characterized as a “frequent flyer in the United State judicial system,” finding that five similar putative class action lawsuits against the defendants, three of which were filed before the plaintiff filed his complaint, are currently pending in a federal court in California. Hinton v. Naked Juice Co., No. 11-3740 (D. Md., decided April 30, 2012). The plaintiff, who has apparently filed at least 43 other federal civil lawsuits, all dismissed as frivolous, sought $100,000 in damages from the defendants, claiming that they label their beverages as “Non-GMO” and “natural” while using genetically modified and synthetic ingredients. He filed the complaint in state court, and it was removed to federal court. After the defendants sought to dismiss the case or transfer it to California on convenience grounds, the plaintiff filed a motion for remand.…
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.
A federal court in New York has reportedly consolidated three putative class actions against Frito-Lay North America Inc. involving claims that the company falsely advertised its chips as “all natural” despite using genetically modified corn and oil in the products. In re: Frito-Lay N. Am. Inc. “All-Natural” Litig., No. 12-00408 (E.D.N.Y., order entered March 20, 2012). Two of the suits were filed in December 2011 in California, and the plaintiffs agreed to transfer the claims to New York where a similar action had been filed in January 2012. The parties reportedly stipulated to the consolidation “to streamline the litigation and conserve judicial resources.” See Law 360, March 21, 2012.
A California resident has filed a putative class action in federal court against the Jamba Juice Co., alleging that it falsely advertises its fruit smoothie kits as “All Natural,” when they actually contain “unnaturally processed, synthetic and/or non-natural ingredients,” such as ascorbic acid, citric acid, xanthan gum, and steviol glycosides. Anderson v. Jamba Juice Co., No. 12-1213 (N.D. Cal., filed March 12, 2012). Plaintiff Kevin Anderson brings the action in federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act, claiming that the damages will exceed $5 million and that the class includes more than 100 individuals who have citizenship diverse from that of the defendant. Anderson alleges that he and a nationwide class of consumers “did not receive the benefit of their bargain when they purchased the smoothie kits. They paid money for a product that is not what it claims to be.” Contending that the defendant “is a leading healthy…
An Alabama resident has reportedly filed seven lawsuits in federal court against companies that make or sell orange juice products advertised as 100 percent pure or natural when they are actually “a product of industrial processing and laboratory-flavored juices.” Veal v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No. 12-00804 (N.D. Ala., filed March 13, 2012). John Veal apparently alleges breach of contract and breach of warranty against each defendant on behalf of nationwide classes of consumers. According to a news source, he claims that he would not have purchased the products had he known the truth about their contents and would not have paid the higher prices charged for them. Among those sued were Simply Orange Juice Co., Tropicana Products Inc. and Winn Dixie Stores Inc. See Everything Alabama Blog, blog.al.com, March 15, 2012.
A California resident has filed a putative class action in a California federal court against the companies that make a line of SoBe® beverages known as 0 Calories Lifewater®, alleging that the product labels and promotions are misleading. Hairston v. S. Beach Beverage Co., Inc., No. 12-1429 (C.D. Cal., filed February 21, 2012). According to the plaintiff, the companies label the product as “all natural” despite purported non-natural and synthetic ingredients, such as ascorbic acid, cyanocobalamin, calcium pantothenate, niacinamide, and pyridoxine hydrochloride, which are apparently listed on product labels as Vitamins C, B12, B5, B3, and B6, respectively. He claims that reasonable consumers “do not have the specialized knowledge necessary to identify ingredients in SoBe Beverages as being inconsistent with the ‘All Natural’ claims.” The plaintiff also alleges that the companies deceive consumers by using the names of fruits on the labels. For example, the “B-Energy Strawberry Apricot, does not…
A New York resident has reportedly filed a putative class action in federal court, alleging that Frito-Lay misleads consumers by promoting its snack products as “all natural” when they actually contain corn and oils made from genetically engineered (GE) plants. Shake v. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., No. 12-408 (E.D.N.Y., filed January 30, 2012). Similar litigation was filed in December 2011 in California. Details about that case appear in Issue 421 of this Update. According to a news source, plaintiff Chris Shake alleges that he paid an additional 10 cents per ounce of Tostitos® and SunChips® over other comparable products and would not have done so had he known that the defendant’s products are not made with “all-natural ingredients.” A company spokesperson was quoted as saying that the product labeling “complies with all regulatory requirements.” Shake reportedly alleges damages in excess of $5 million. See Reuters, January 30, 2012.
A Pennsylvania resident has filed a putative class action in a Florida federal court seeking to represent Florida and multistate classes of consumers allegedly misled by claims that Tropicana orange juice products are “pure” and “natural.” Pederson v. PepsiCo, No. 12-00104 (M.D. Fla., filed January 18, 2012). Similar to lawsuits already filed in New Jersey and California, this complaint alleges that Tropicana branded fruit juices are extensively processed and flavored for mass-marketing purposes. Additional information about the other lawsuits appears in Issue 422 of this Update. According to the complaint, “Defendants heavily process Tropicana Orange Juice by pasteurizing, de-aerating, and storing it for long periods of time at a ‘tank farm’ and under a nitrogen blanket, which strips the juice of its flavor and aroma. Defendants then re-flavor the product with chemical ‘flavor packets’ before it is packaged into a carton and sold to the consumer.” Alleging violations of the Florida…
