Category: Issue 487
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Class Claims Goldfish® Crackers Contain GM Ingredients, Cannot Be Labeled “Natural”
A California resident has filed a putative statewide class action alleging that Pepperidge Farm falsely advertised and labeled its Goldfish® crackers as “Natural” despite using genetically modified (GM), synthetic or artificial ingredients to make them. Koehler v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., No. 13-2644 (N.D. Cal., filed June 10, 2013). Among other matters, the plaintiff alleges that…
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State Appeals Court May Revive Wrongful Death Suit Against Dole
According to a news source, a California appeals court indicated during oral argument that it would likely reverse the dismissal order of a lower court in a wrongful death action alleging that Dole Food Co. paid Colombian paramilitaries to kill 170 people near South American banana plantations. Gomez v. Dole Food Co., Inc., No. B242400 (Cal.…
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Federal Court Approves Starbucks’ Settlement of Wage-and-Hour Class Action
A federal court in California has preliminarily approved a $3 million settlement of claims by state Starbucks Corp. employees that the company denied them off-duty breaks because its busy stores were understaffed and the company required employees to take their breaks on-duty if only two employees were present. York v. Starbucks Corp., No. 08-7919 (C.D.…
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Advocates Spar with FDA over FSMA Rulemaking Deadlines
The Center for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have filed separate proposals to implement a court order requiring the agency to complete its rulemaking under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) after finding that FDA had violated the law by failing to meet its rulemaking deadlines. Ctr. for Food Safety v.…
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Court Considers Stay of GM Labeling Lawsuit Under Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine
A federal judge in California has notified the parties to a consumer-fraud action against the company that makes Mission® tortilla chips of her inclination to stay the litigation for six months and refer to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the question “whether products containing GMO [genetically modified organisms] or bioengineered ingredients may properly be…
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Certification Denied, Plaintiff’s False-Labeling Claims Not Typical of the Class
A federal court in California has denied the class certification motion filed by a woman who sought to represent anyone in the state who had purchased products in entire beverage lines produced by the defendant, because she had purchased just five specific products and thus her labeling and misbranding claims were not typical of those…
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Federal Circuit Rules Organic Farmers Lack Standing to Challenge Monsanto Patents
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court’s dismissal of the declaratory judgment action brought by a number of organizations representing the interests of organic farmers. Organic Seed Growers & Trade Ass’n v. Monsanto Co., No. 2012-1298 (Fed. Cir., decided June 10, 2013). The farmers sought a declaration of non-infringement and invalidity…
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SCOTUS Rules Raisin Growers’ Takings Defense Justiciable in Ninth Circuit
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court has determined that the Ninth Circuit erred by failing to consider the unconstitutional takings defense raised by raisin growers who were subject to penalties and assessments for failure to pay assessments and set aside reserve-tonnage raisins under a Depression-era program intended to stabilize prices for agricultural commodities by limiting their…