California residents have filed a putative class action against Nonni’s Foods, LLC, alleging that the company falsely represents its “All Natural” biscotti products by failing to disclose that ingredients, such as cocoa processed with alkali, glycerin, monocalcium phosphate, and diglycerides, are synthetic. Larsen v. Nonni’s Foods, LLC, No. 11-4758 (N.D. Cal., filed September 23, 2011). Seeking to certify a nationwide class and statewide subclass, the plaintiffs allege common law fraud; unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices; false advertising; and violation of the state’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act. They request restitution; compensatory, statutory and punitive damages; declaratory and injunctive relief; attorney’s fees; costs; interest; and an accounting and imposition of a constructive trust on money the company received as a result of its conduct. The plaintiffs essentially contend that they did not receive the benefit of their bargain when purchasing the product and “lost money as a result in the form…
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A Texas resident has filed a putative nationwide class action against the Naked Juice Co., alleging that its “100% Juice,” “100% Fruit,” “All Natural,” and “non-GMO” beverage products are falsely labeled because they contain synthetic and genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Sandys v. Naked Juice Co., No. 11-8007 (C.D. Cal., filed September 27, 2011). The complaint claims that the defendants concealed the nature, identity and source of their products’ added ingredients, such as vitamins and “natural flavors,” and that the plaintiff paid a premium price for falsely labeled products and ingested substances she did not expect and did not consent to. The plaintiff also contends that some of the product ingredients are harmful to human health and the environment as well as to the workers who produce them. Alleging numerous violations of state and federal consumer fraud and product warranty laws, negligence and negligent misrepresentation, strict liability, assault and battery, and conspiracy,…
California residents have filed a putative class action in federal court against a company that promotes its granola, cookie and trail mix products as “100% Pure and Natural,” despite making them with some purportedly synthetic ingredients. Thurston v. Bear Naked, Inc., No. 11-4678 (N.D. Cal., filed September 21, 2011). Seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers, the plaintiffs allege that they would not have purchased the defendant’s products at a premium price if they had known that “synthetic ingredients were used in the product.” According to the complaint, the company’s products contain cocoa processed with alkali, glycerin and lecithin. The plaintiffs allege unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices and false advertising under California law; violation of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act; and restitution based on quasi-contract/unjust enrichment. They seek restitution, compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, costs, interest, and “[a]n order requiring an accounting for, and imposition of,…
WSJ Reporter Ashby Jones provides an overview of the recent spate of lawsuits challenging food makers’ claims that their products are “All Natural” or “100% Natural.” Without an official Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of the term, determining whether such product claims constitute fraud can be difficult, according to lawyers such as Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Stephen Gardner, who was quoted as saying, “We badly want them to provide some clarity on the issue, but they’ve repeatedly failed to do anything.” The article notes how FDA muddied the waters for products containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) by announcing in 2008 that it is not “natural” and then later pronouncing that it actually depends on how synthetic ingredients are used to make the HFCS. Details about the FDA’s HFCS actions appear in Issues 255 and 266 of this Update. An FDA spokesperson acknowledged that the agency has…
Seeking to represent a nationwide class of consumers, a California resident has filed a consumer fraud class action against the Balance Bar Co., challenging its “All Natural” claims in light of product ingredients such as ascorbic acid, cocoa (processed with alkali), glycerine, sodium citrate, and xanthan gum. Sethavanish v. Balance Bar Co., No. 11-4547 (N.D. Cal., filed September 13, 2011). She claims that she purchased different Balance Bar products since 2007 relying on the “All Natural” representations and paying more for the products “than she would have had to pay for other products that were not all natural.” In her complaint, she notes that the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the term “natural,” but contends that the agency “has established a policy defining the outer boundaries of the use of that term by clarifying that a product is not natural if it contains color, artificial flavors, or synthetic…
A putative class action has been filed in a federal court in California against Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., alleging that the company’s Skinnygirl™ Margarita beverage, purportedly created by a natural foods chef, contains sodium benzoate and other preservatives and should not be advertised and sold as a “natural” product. Bonar v. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., No. ___ (S.D. Cal., filed September 6, 2011). Alleging purely economic damages, the plaintiff seeks to certify a nationwide class of purchasers and claims that the company has violated California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Business & Professions Code Section 17200 et seq., and breached express warranties. She requests compensatory and punitive damages, restitution, disgorgement, corrective advertising, injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and costs.
George Washington University Law School Professor John Banzhaf, who teaches “public interest” law, has issued a press release discussing recent class action claims against ConAgra over its “All Natural” cooking oil representations. According to Banzhaf, such litigation could be in the vanguard of many similar lawsuits against food companies that would be targeted by “both money-hungry lawyers and public-interest attorneys.” He discusses the litigation that he and his students successfully filed against McDonald’s for allegedly misleading consumers about the content of the oil in which it cooks its French fries and notes that many manufacturers claiming to make “all natural” foods could be held liable in consumer fraud actions if the ingredients are genetically engineered or contain high-fructose corn syrup. Banzhaf concludes by suggesting, in light of Forbes calling obesity-related litigation “the next tobacco,” that “perhaps ‘all-natural’ is the next fat.” Banzhaf made a name for himself decades ago by…
A Texas resident has filed a putative class action against the Kashi Co. and its parent, the Kellogg Co., in a California federal court, alleging that the company falsely labels and markets its products as “all natural” when they actually contain processed and synthetic ingredients, some of which are not generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bates v. Kashi Co., No. 11-1967 (S.D. Cal., filed August 24, 2011). Seeking to certify a nationwide class of consumers, the plaintiff names in the complaint dozens of ingredients used in Kashi snack, cereal, pizza, fruit bar, waffle, shake, trail mix, cookie, and cracker products, explains how they are produced and indicates whether they or the processes that create them are hazardous or toxic. For example, the plaintiff claims that sodium selenite is a hazardous substance. “The FDA has not declared it generally recognized as safe as a food…
A federal court in California has granted in part the motion to dismiss filed by Arizona Beverages USA LLC, in a putative class action alleging the violation of consumer fraud and false advertising laws due to company representations that its products are “Natural,” “All Natural” and “100% Natural.” Ries v. Arizona Beverages USA LLC, No. 10-01139 (N.D. Cal., decided August 25, 2011). The plaintiffs contend that the products are not natural in that they contain high-fructose corn syrup and an artificially produced citric acid. At issue in the defendants’ motion was whether the plaintiffs had adequately pleaded the claims in their first amended complaint under Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). According to the court, the complaint adequately pleaded fraud in connection with the plaintiffs’ allegations arising out of the product labels. The court concluded, “These allegations are not inherently implausible and are sufficient for purposes of Rule 9(b).” The…
The parents of a 29-year-old who died after he fell into a vat of chocolate have filed a wrongful death action in a Pennsylvania state court against the company that owned the plant where he worked and a number of other defendants involved in manufacturing the allegedly faulty equipment that purportedly led to the accident. Smith v. Lyons & Sons, Inc., No. __ (Pa. Ct. Com. Pleas, Philadelphia Cty., filed July 1, 2011). The decedent allegedly slipped on a cardboard-covered platform made slippery with chocolate and other materials and fell into the vat through unguarded holes. The vat was “processing, mixing and melting chocolate at extremely high temperatures at the time.” Co-workers were allegedly unable to stop the vat from operating because the switch was not located on the platform. Alleging negligence, strict liability and breach of express and implied warranties, the plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $50,000. The…
