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Category Archives: Labeling Claims

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Hershey Kisses Chocolate Mislabeling Suit Goodbye

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek and Ariella Muller on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
A California federal judge recently handed a victory to the Hershey Co. in a suit alleging the company falsely represented that its Brookside chocolate products have no artificial flavors. Clark v. Hershey Co., 18-cv-06113 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 15, 2019). U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted summary judgment in favor of Hershey on the basis of … Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Remands after District Judge Makes Injunction Stickier in Light Beer Corn Syrup Dispute

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek and Ariella Muller on Posted in Deceptive Trade Practices, Injunctions, Labeling Claims
The Seventh Circuit has remanded a lawsuit concerning beer advertising to the district court for failure to follow required procedures in issuing a preliminary injunction – the latest development in the case’s torturous procedural history. On May 24, 2019, Judge William Conley of the Western District of Wisconsin issued a preliminary injunction banning Anheuser-Busch from … Continue Reading

Food for Thought: Outcomes of Food Labeling Cases Prove Difficult to Predict

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek, Monique Curry and Emily H. Kline on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
As we wrote recently, the past year has seen a proliferation of lawsuits alleging that food product labels mislead consumers about the product’s ingredients. The trend continued last month, with decisions from the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and one of its district courts reaching different results on motions to dismiss complaints alleging … Continue Reading

Plaintiff Fails to Butter Up Court with Mashed Potato Suit

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Carl Mazurek on Posted in Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
We have previously written about decisions addressing food product labels, and the messages that these labels convey about the products’ ingredients. In Jessani v. Monini, the Second Circuit found that a product label for “white truffle flavored” olive oil did not imply that the product contained actual white truffles. Not long afterwards, the Second Circuit … Continue Reading

Court Lets Trader Joe’s Out of Sticky Situation Over Honey Advertising

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek and Marc Palmer on Posted in Deceptive Trade Practices, FDCA, Labeling Claims
A magistrate judge in the Northern District of California recently dismissed a putative class action alleging that Trader Joe’s misled its consumers about the purity of its manuka honey.  Moore v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 4:18-CV-04418-KAW, 2019 WL 2579219 (N.D. Cal. June 24, 2019). Plaintiffs commenced a putative class action lawsuit alleging that Trader Joe’s … Continue Reading

Suit Over Use of American Heart Association Certification Mark Maintains a Pulse

By Alexander Kaplan and Carl Mazurek on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
Is it deceptive to label food products with the mark of the American Heart Association (“AHA”) without disclosing that the AHA was paid for use of its certification mark? This was the question raised by a putative class action lawsuit in the Northern District of New York, which largely survived dismissal on March 25, 2019. … Continue Reading

Justin Timberlake Waves Bai Bai Bai to Partially Dismissed “No Artificial Flavors” Beverage Mislabeling Suit

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jennifer Yang and Monique Curry on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
Last month, a judge in the Southern District of California partially dismissed a putative class action against beverage company Bai Brands, LLC (“Bai”) and related defendants. Branca v. Bai Brands, LLC, No. 18-00757 (S.D. Cal. 2019). Plaintiff Kevin Branca filed this lawsuit against Bai, its parent company Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (“DPSG”), the CEOs of … Continue Reading

California Court Sours on Starbucks Gummies Lawsuit

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Ariella Muller on Posted in Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
Several months ago we covered two Second Circuit decisions that addressed false advertising claims related to ingredients and product labeling of foods, which reached differing results. Applying similar principles, a recent decision from the Southern District of California found that Starbucks’ packaging for its sour gummy candies did not reasonably suggest that the candies were … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Denies Review of Class Certification in Beer Labeling Brouhaha

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek and Ariella Muller on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
In a 2-1 decision memorialized in a one-page order, a Ninth Circuit panel recently denied Kona Brewing’s request for leave to appeal a grant of class certification to a consumer class claiming that the company’s branding deceptively communicated the false message that Kona beer is brewed in Hawaii. Broomfield v. Craft Brew Alliance, No. 18-80145 … Continue Reading

State of Nature: District Courts Diverge in Treatment of “Natural” False Advertising Claims

By Lawrence Weinstein, Carl Mazurek and Kelly Landers Hawthorne on Posted in Labeling Claims
Two recent contrasting decisions in class action false advertising cases alleging misleading uses of the term “natural” for food products underscore the difficulty in predicting the likelihood of achieving an early stage dismissal in these cases. Late last year, Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California denied Williams-Sonoma’s motion to dismiss an alleged … Continue Reading

Kimberly-Clark Unable to Flush Wet Wipes Case

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Aliza Hassine on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
On December 10, 2018, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Kimberly-Clark Corp, v. Davidson, No. 18-304 (2018), in which Kimberly-Clark sought to overturn a controversial Ninth Circuit decision allowing a plaintiff in a false advertising case to seek injunctive relief on behalf of an alleged consumer class notwithstanding that plaintiff’s complaint acknowledged she was aware … Continue Reading

Failure to Disclose Claims Washed Away in Facial Scrub Case

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jennifer Yang and Marc Palmer on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
On December 17, 2018, Judge Andrew J. Guilford in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted defendant Unilever’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims in a putative class action concerning St. Ives Apricot Scrub. Browning v. Unilever United States, Inc., 2018 WL 6615064 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 2018). Plaintiffs alleged … Continue Reading

No Use Crying Over Spilled (Almond) Milk: Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Almond Milk Labeling Suit

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Anisha Shenai-Khatkhate on Posted in Class Actions, FDCA, Labeling Claims, Primary Jurisdiction/Preemption, Typicality Requirement
On December 20, 2018, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal without leave to amend of a putative class action complaint against Blue Diamond Growers, which alleged that the term “almond milk” on Blue Diamond’s beverages was misleading. Painter v. Blue Diamond Growers, — Fed.Appx. —, 2018 WL 6720560 (9th Cir. Dec. 20, 2018). The named … Continue Reading

Cheez-Its Class Action Revived in “Whole” by Second Circuit

By Lawrence Weinstein and Jeff Warshafsky on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
We recently blogged about the Second Circuit’s December 3, 2018 decision in Jessani v. Monini, where, applying the reasonable consumer standard, the Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a complaint alleging that the label of an extra virgin olive oil product advertised as “truffle flavored” falsely implied that the product contained … Continue Reading

Eleventh Circuit Works Out Preclusion and Preemption Issues in Protein Powder Dispute

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Emily H. Kline on Posted in Labeling Claims, Lanham Act, Primary Jurisdiction/Preemption
On December 4, 2018, the Eleventh Circuit partially reversed the dismissal of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals’ suit against HBS International Corp. for alleged violations of the Lanham Act and Georgia’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. HBS International Corp., No. 17-13884 (11th Cir. 2018). Hi-Tech alleged that the label of HBS’s protein-powder supplement – … Continue Reading

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Truffle Kerfuffle

By Alexander Kaplan and Daniel Werb on Posted in Labeling Claims
Last year, we wrote about Jessani et al v. Monini North America, a case in the Southern District of New York in which the court dismissed as a matter of law plaintiffs’ complaint alleging that Monini falsely advertised its “White Truffle Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil” product as containing actual white truffle. The case turned … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Puts Restitution Claims to Rest in Discount Advertising Case

By Lawrence Weinstein, Daniel Werb and Carl Mazurek on Posted in Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
The Ninth Circuit recently addressed once again the common practice in outlet stores and other retail establishments of juxtaposing the price at which a fashion item is offered for sale with a higher price advertised as a former price, or as the supposed market value, of that item.  Chowning v. Kohl’s Dep’t Stores, 2018 WL … Continue Reading

Federal “Spring Water” Standards Runneth Over State Claims

By Lawrence Weinstein and Daniel Werb on Posted in Class Actions, FDCA, Labeling Claims, Primary Jurisdiction/Preemption
We often cover cases in which false advertising claims brought under state law are challenged as preempted by a federal regulatory scheme.  Poland Spring was a recent target of state law false advertising claims, and successfully obtained the dismissal of those claims on the ground that they were preempted by federal statute.  Patane v. Nestle … Continue Reading

Diet Soda Lawsuit Fizzles Out

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Russell Kostelak on Posted in Class Actions, Deceptive Trade Practices, Labeling Claims
Recently, a plaintiff’s purported class action against Diet Dr. Pepper went flat when a California federal judge held that the term “Diet” alone on a soft drink label does not constitute a claim that the soft drink will assist in weight loss. In Becerra v. Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc., Plaintiff Shana Becerra brought a putative … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Finds Grounds to Dismiss Iced Coffee False Advertising Suit

By Lawrence Weinstein and Russell Kostelak on Posted in Class Actions, Labeling Claims
Recently, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a putative class action claiming that Starbucks deceived its customers by under-filling the liquids in its iced drinks and adding ice to make the cups appear full. Forouzesh v. Starbucks Corp. The Ninth Circuit held that “no reasonable consumer would think (for example) that a 12-ounce … Continue Reading

No More Baby Talk: Class Certification Denied in Gerber False Advertising Suit

By Lawrence Weinstein, Jeff Warshafsky and Evelyn Pang on Posted in Class Actions, Labeling Claims
The Northern District of California recently denied class certification to a plaintiff who alleged that Gerber Products misbranded nutritional claims about baby food products in violation of state and federal labeling laws.  Bruton v. Gerber Products Co. et al.  The plaintiff had previously moved to certify a damages and an injunctive relief class in 2014.  However, … Continue Reading

Class Certification Denied in Juice Dispute

By Lawrence Weinstein and Daniel Werb on Posted in Class Actions, Labeling Claims, Regulatory
Recently, a New Jersey federal district court judge refused to certify a class of consumers claiming an orange juice product was mislabeled as “pasteurized.”  In re: Tropicana Orange Juice Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation. According to plaintiffs, Tropicana’s “Pure Premium” orange juice contained added natural flavoring in violation of FDA pasteurization standards.  The court denied the … Continue Reading

New York Federal Court Latest to Dismiss Outlet Pricing Class Action

By Lawrence Weinstein and Lee Popkin on Posted in Labeling Claims
Last month, Judge Valerie Caproni of the Southern District of New York dismissed with prejudice a putative deceptive pricing class action filed against Burberry.  This is the first decision within the Second Circuit to determine whether shoppers claiming to have been victimized by discount price advertising in outlet stores have suffered actual injury for purposes … Continue Reading

Truffle Kerfuffle: Truffle Lawsuit Not on the Menu for Plaintiffs

By Alexander Kaplan on Posted in Labeling Claims
Truffles are renowned as one of the rarest delicacies in the world.  Perhaps not quite as rare, but still fairly uncommon, is the dismissal with prejudice of a false advertising class action without the plaintiffs being afforded even a single opportunity to amend their complaint. We are pleased to report today on a victory that … Continue Reading
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