Think you’re being healthy when you reach for that KIND bar in the middle of your workday? We won’t say yes or no—since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has recently declined to opine on what “all...more
When it comes to consumer class action litigation, what type of evidence is required to show that labeling nutrition bars as "all natural" violates false advertising and consumer protection laws? According to the plaintiffs...more
Distilled spirits manufacturers recently find themselves in proverbial hot water when it comes to incomplete or misleading representations on labels. Recent state and federal court cases highlight that while mere "puffery" –...more
In a recent opinion out of the Southern District of New York, Judge William H. Pauley III certified three classes of plaintiffs in New York, California, and Florida who allege that KIND LLC, the manufacturer of KIND Bars,...more
When consumers make grocery store runs to pick up vanilla ice cream or vanilla almond milk, are they concerned with whether the product is derived solely or primarily from vanilla beans versus being simply vanilla flavored?...more
The Second Quarter of 2020 has demonstrated increased filings in the food litigation space. Amidst reduced court operations and a significant decrease to general commercial litigation filings attributable to the COVID-19...more
Several pending rulings at the circuit court level have the potential to significantly influence class action law in 2020. Of greatest note, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit may determine the future of...more
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...more
Food and beverage companies doing business in the United States should be aware that lawsuits are being brought against businesses based on small amounts of ingredients and trace amounts of substances that are incidentally in...more
Welcome to the latest edition of the Food & Beverage Digest, our roundup of court cases and settlements affecting the agribusiness, food, beverage, and cosmetics industry. Here you’ll find information about cases buzzing...more
As of August 2019, overall food litigation filings are on pace with those of last year. California and New York remain the two most popular jurisdictions for food litigation matters. While California filings in 2019 are...more
2018 Food Industry Decisions with Bite - Food for Thought is a review of significant court decisions affecting the food, beverage, dietary supplements and personal care products industry. Although many cases in this...more
It was another active year in 2018 for class action litigation targeting the food, beverage and supplement industries. A cross-practice team from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has authored a roundup of the most notable...more
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...more
Consumer class action suits continue to target food products that plaintiffs allege don’t actually contain the ingredients highlighted in their labels. For example, in one such false fact case last month, the plaintiff argued...more
In this episode, Neal Marder, who heads Akin Gump’s consumer class action litigation practice from the firm’s Los Angeles office, discusses how false advertising claims are driving consumer class actions. Among the topics...more
What do dog food and olive oil have in common? Both products are the subject of recently filed consumer class actions alleging false advertising....more
Each month we will be sharing the PC Food Litigation Index, a summary of latest class action filings in the food and beverage industry. This data is compiled by Perkins Coie based on a review of dockets from courts...more
Podpeskar v. Dannon Co., Inc., 16-cv-8478 (KBF) (S.D.N.Y., Dec. 3, 2017) - The Southern District of New York joins the list of federal courts that have recently rejected potential class action suits brought against...more
For years the United States District Court for the Northern District of California has been known as the “Food Court.” It acquired the name because both plaintiffs and defendants viewed it as pro-plaintiff in class action...more
French Agency Finds Unlabeled Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Food - The Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF), a French agency for consumer affairs and fraud...more
To settle a class action challenging advertising for chips and dip products touted as “made with all natural ingredients,” Frito-Lay North America, Inc., has agreed to change its labeling....more
In a review of new class action cases filed against in 2017, we counted at least 11 actions in the food industry alone alleging that a product was not “natural” or “all-natural” as claimed in its advertising or labeling....more
The food and beverage industry is faced with an onslaught of consumer fraud class actions targeting everything from the use of the terms “all natural,” “healthy,” and “organic,” to the amount of slack-fill in particular...more
Senators Call For Removal of Dioxane from Cosmetic Products - U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer (DN. Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (DN. Y.) have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to prohibit detectable levels of 1,4dioxane...more