Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: Issue 636

  • Bob Marley’s Family Awarded $2.4 Million for Trademark Infringement

    The family of Bob Marley will receive more than $2.8 million in damages and unpaid royalties from Jammin Java Corp. in a trademark­-infringement suit. Fifty­Six Hope Rd. Music Ltd. v. Jammin Java, No. 16-­5810 (C.D. Cal., order entered May 30, 2017). The family’s companies, 56 Hope Road Music Ltd. and Hope Road Merchandising LLC, own…

  • Moose Munch Slack-­Fill Putative Class Action Dismissed

    A proposed slack-­fill class action against Harry & David LLC was dismissed after the parties voluntarily dismissed the action. Brown v. Harry & David LLC, No. 17-­0999 (S.D.N.Y., stipulation filed May 22, 2017). The stipulation did not explain the reason for dismissal but stipulated that it was dismissed “with prejudice against the Defendant.” The plaintiff…

  • Cheese Not “Natural” if Cows Given GMO Feeds, Consumer Alleges

    A consumer has filed a proposed class action alleging Sargento Foods misleadingly advertises its cheese products as “natural” despite containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or animal growth hormones. Stanton v. Sargento Foods, Inc., No. 17­-2881 (N.D. Cal., filed May 19, 2017). The plaintiff asserts that the cows providing milk for the production of Sargento cheeses…

  • Jury Finds for UC Davis in Strawberry IP Infringement

    A California jury found that retired University of California, Davis, professors willfully infringed the university’s patents on strawberries they developed in the school’s program. Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Cal. Berry Cultivars, No. 16­-2477 (N.D. Cal., verdict filed May 24, 2017). The professors formed a private strawberry-­breeding company, California Berry Cultivars, after retiring from…

  • Little Caesars Faces Class Action Over “Halal” Pizza Containing Pork

    A Muslim man who alleges he was served pork pepperoni on a pizza sold as halal has filed a $100-­million putative class action against Little Caesar Enterprises. Bazzi v. Little Caesar Pizza, 17­-7931 (Mich. Cir. Ct. Wayne Cty., filed May 25, 2017). According to the complaint, the plaintiff ordered the pizza at a franchise location…

  • Advocacy Groups Seek to Vacate FDA GRAS Rule

    Five public advocacy groups have filed suit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to vacate FDA’s “Substances Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) rule, which allegedly allows “potentially unsafe food additives to be used in the food supply (human and animal) without FDA review,…

  • AAP Recommends Limiting Fruit Juice For Kids

    The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has announced new recommendations limiting the amount of fruit juice that children consume to reduce the risk of obesity and dental caries. Whole fruit is preferable to fruit juice for nutrition and healthy weight gain, the group stated, because 100 percent juice is mostly water, with small amounts of…

  • Brazilian Meatpacker to Pay $3.2 Billion to Settle Bribery Charges

    The holding company of Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA has reportedly agreed to pay a $3.2­-billion fine for the company’s involvement in a graft and bribery scandal involving more than 1,800 politicians, including President Michel Temer and former President Dilma Rousseff. J&F Investimentos, co-­owned by brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, will pay the fine to U.S.…