A plaintiff has filed a putative class action alleging Diestel Turkey Ranch falsely markets its turkeys as "thoughtfully raised on sustainable family farms with plenty of fresh air and space to roam." Wetzel v. Diestel Turkey Ranch, No. 20-1213 (D.N.M., filed November 19, 2020). The plaintiff argues that Diestel "sources the overwhelming majority of its turkeys from growers outside of Sonora, California, at typical factory farms [], where turkeys are raised in large, overcrowded metal sheds that lack sufficient space to engage in natural behaviors and are often mired in manure and slaughterhouse waste—i.e., not ranches or ranch-like conditions depicted at the Sonora Ranch." The plaintiff alleges violations of New Mexico's false advertising law. Cargill Inc. faces similar allegations in a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission by several advocacy groups. "Cargill makes numerous representations that lead consumers to believe the turkeys used in its Products are raised by 'independent family…
Tag Archives New Mexico
A federal court has denied class certification to plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation involving false advertising claims for 5-Hour Energy® drinks, finding they failed to allege that common issues predominate over individual ones, including a common definition of “energy.” In re 5-Hour Energy Mktg. and Sales Practices Litig., No. 13-2438 (C.D. Cal., order entered June 7, 2017). The plaintiffs could not establish the definition of “energy,” the court found, because they defined it as “caloric energy” based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration dietary-supplement standards but did not show that consumers interpret “energy” the same way. In addition, plaintiffs in California, Missouri and New Mexico proposed a theory of liability based on underfilling, alleging that the product provided only 3.7 minutes of caloric energy instead of five hours, while plaintiffs in other states did not argue for the theory. Issue 637
Voters in Santa Fe, New Mexico, rejected a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax initiative that would have raised the price of SSBs by 2 cents per ounce. Political action committees, industry groups and advocacy organizations reportedly spent $3.25 million on the vote. Campaign finance reports show that Michael Bloomberg, who began his campaign for SSB taxes and portion caps during his term as mayor of New York City, contributed $1 million to a pro-tax committee. Issue 633
A federal court in New Mexico has approved a consent decree of permanent injunction between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Sunland, Inc., which owns a facility where peanut butter products purportedly tainted with Salmonella were produced. United States v. Sunland, Inc., No. 12-1312 (D.N.M., filed December 21, 2012). The outbreak affected “at least 35 people from 19 states,” eight of whom “were hospitalized as a result of their infection.” While the company neither admits nor denies FDA’s allegations, it agreed to take a number of actions to correct food-handling practices “that likely resulted in cross-contamination between raw peanuts and peanuts that had been roasted or brined.” The company must “develop and implement sanitation control programs; provide FDA the opportunity to inspect the facilities to assure Sunland’s compliance with the consent decree, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and applicable regulations; and receive written authorization from FDA to resume…
New Mexico has joined Washington and California in considering GM (genetically modified) labeling on food products. Sponsored by state Senator Peter Wirth (D), the proposal (S.B. 18) seeks to amend the New Mexico Food Act and Commercial Feed Law to require the labeling of any food or commercial animal feed containing more than 1 percent of GM material. It would also require the label to be “conspicuous and easily understandable to consumers.” The bill is the latest in a series of state-based initiatives aiming to force companies to label foods containing GM ingredients and follows California’s Proposition 37—which was narrowly defeated in November 2012—and Washington’s I-522, a citizen-backed initiative which recently secured enough signatures to go be submitted to the secretary of state.
A New Mexico resident has filed a putative statewide class action in federal court claiming that a company which makes one-cup coffee cartridges for Keurig® single-serve coffee machines falsely labels and markets its cartridges as fresh coffee when they are actually filled with instant coffee. Bracewell v. Sturm Foods, Inc., No. 11-01024 (D.N.M., filed November 18, 2011). Alleging violations of New Mexico and Illinois consumer fraud laws and unjust enrichment, the plaintiff seeks statutory damages, injunctive relief, attorney’s fees, and costs.
An appeals court in New Mexico has affirmed a trial court’s decision to dismiss claims that a horse rancher’s family became ill as a result of exposure to horse feed containing an antibiotic toxic to horses. Parkhill v. Alderman-Cave Milling & Grain Co., No. 29,120 (N. M. Ct. App., decided October 6, 2010). The parties settled claims that the feed sickened or killed horses from several of the plaintiffs’ horse ranches, and the trial court dismissed claims, as a sanction for discovery abuse, that the family’s personal health was affected by exposure to the feed. The appeals court did not reach the sanctions issue, finding that the lower court properly excluded the testimony of the plaintiffs’ experts. The toxin involved was monensin, an antibiotic that is a common additive to feed for livestock, but prohibited in horse feed. The plaintiffs alleged that immediately after contact with the feed they developed skin…
