In May, President Biden announced the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s proposed rule reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)....more
On May 28, 2024, Chief Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, certified a class of consumers in an action against Barilla Foods....more
6/20/2024
/ Advertising ,
Ascertainable Class ,
Barilla ,
Class Certification ,
CLRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Country of Origin ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Manufacturers ,
FRCP 23 ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Product Packaging ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL)
Over the past several years, federal courts have rarely allowed slack-fill class actions to survive beyond the motion to dismiss phase. Whether the plaintiffs allege that the packaging is misleading or that the slack-fill is...more
1/19/2022
/ Breach of Warranty ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Fraud ,
False Advertising ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Product Packaging ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Slack-Fill Suits
In October of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals analyzed the issue of federal preemption in the context of poultry product labeling. The plaintiff in Cohen v. ConAgra Brands, Inc., brought a putative class action...more
12/16/2021
/ All Natural ,
ConAgra ,
Department of Agriculture ,
False Advertising ,
Food Labeling ,
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Online Advertisements ,
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). ,
Preemption ,
Product Labels ,
Putative Class Actions ,
State Law Claims ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The uptick in product labeling lawsuits has been anything but vanilla in 2021. After the avalanche of lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 targeting products marketed as containing vanilla-flavoring were largely dismissed by federal...more
On March 26, 2021, Southern District of Florida District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga denied a motion to dismiss an antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy to fix the price of farm-raised Atlantic salmon globally....more
4/20/2021
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Supply ,
Market Manipulation ,
Nasdaq ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market ,
Salmon ,
Seafood ,
Suppliers
Federal courts continue to demonstrate lacking patience for nationwide product labeling class actions premised on purported label misstatements regarding the sourcing of vanilla flavoring....more
As we anticipated back in May, there has been a significant increase in litigation relating to business interruption insurance coverage for losses attributable to COVID-19 restrictions. Restaurant policyholders, in...more
On Monday, Northern District of Illinois Judge Virginia M. Kendall denied three motions to dismiss a putative class action alleging that the nation’s leading turkey suppliers—including Butterball, Cargill, House of Raeford,...more
As the Bilzin Sumberg team previously reported in June 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted four executives from Pilgrim’s Pride and Claxton Poultry for their participation in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids...more
10/27/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food Supply ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing ,
Retail Market
Earlier this month, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of New York filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Hillandale Farms alleging that the company gouged egg prices during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
8/28/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corruption ,
Goods or Services ,
Manufacturers ,
Price Gouging ,
Price Inflation ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
White Collar Crimes
On June 8, 2020, Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York dismissed a putative class action against TGI Friday’s (“Friday’s”) for alleged deceptive advertising....more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted executives from Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and Claxton Poultry Farms—two of the country’s largest chicken producers. The criminal action was filed in the District of...more
6/8/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Bid Rigging ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Farms ,
Food Supply ,
Meat Processing Plants ,
Poultry ,
Price-Fixing
On May 20, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a proposed class action against General Mills for its alleged failure to disclose the presence of a harmful chemical in its Cheerios cereal....more
5/28/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Warranty ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Food Contamination ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
General Mills ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Monsanto ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Standing ,
Toxic Exposure ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Unjust Enrichment
In the latest of a series of antitrust lawsuits involving the food industry, a Virginia federal court last week denied a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging a price-fixing conspiracy in the peanut market....more
Work in the restaurant industry is a grind on a good day. Long hours, revolving staff, never-ending customer expectations, seasonality, supply chain issues, and intense competition are just a few of the daily headaches. As...more
5/14/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Florida ,
Infrastructure ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Risk Management ,
Social Distancing ,
Strategic Planning ,
Workplace Safety
Last week U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton granted Ghirardelli’s Motion to Dismiss a proposed class action involving the chocolatier’s packaging of its white baking chips....more
Pursuant to standard FDA regulations, retail restaurants with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (and offering the substantially same menu) are required to provide nutritional information for standard...more
On March 19, 2020, Magistrate Judge Goodman recommended certifying a Florida class of purchasers of Prevagen, a memory-enhancement product developed by Quincy Bioscience, LLC....more
When America’s war on heart disease was kicked into gear by President Eisenhower’s heart attack in 1955, dietary fat was deemed the culprit. In an effort to improve health, people sought low-fat alternatives to their favorite...more
3/31/2020
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
Class Action ,
False Advertising ,
FDA Warning Letters ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Labeling ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Nutrition Facts Labels ,
Preemption ,
Retail Market ,
Standing
As the CBD boom continues to gain a foothold in mainstream commerce, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been slow to provide retailers and consumers with meaningful guidance or regulation....more
The rapid spread of COVID-19 (also commonly referred to as “novel coronavirus”) has caused nations and organizations across the world to take emergency action in the interest of public health. Most companies are issuing...more
3/11/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Food Contamination ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Food Service Workers ,
Food Supply ,
Foreign Manufacturers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
On-Demand Services ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Supply Chain ,
Workplace Safety
Manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers of CBD products should embrace and participate in reform to address public health concerns, write Bilzin Sumberg attorneys. Consumer groups like the Arthritis Foundation are stepping...more
1/16/2020
/ Agribusiness ,
Business Development ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Distributors ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Essential Health Benefits ,
False Advertising ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Manufacturers ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Marijuana-Infused Edibles ,
Medical Foods ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Plant Based Products ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Startups ,
Suppliers ,
Vaping
This month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a criminal investigation into collusive behavior among some of the largest producers of Atlantic salmon. This inquiry follows the DOJ’s June announcement of its separate...more
11/27/2019
/ Antitrust Conspiracies ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Collusion ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
European Commission ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Price-Fixing ,
Subsidiaries
If you are a typical shopper, the last thing on your mind at the checkout counter is your printed credit card receipt. As you juggle your grocery store bags, you might absentmindedly fold the receipt into your wallet, or...more
10/10/2019
/ Article III ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debit and Credit Card Transactions ,
FACTA ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Point of Sale Terminals ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing