Category: 4th Circuit
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D.C. Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Poultry Inspection System Challenge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of Food & Water Watch’s challenge to the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 15-5037 (D.C., order entered December 22, 2015). The organization argued that the NPIS did not comply with the Poultry…
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FDA Not Negligent in Issuing Tomato Recall, Court Holds
A South Carolina federal court has ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was not negligent in issuing a tomato recall during a 2008 outbreak of Salmonella, dismissing a tomato farm’s claim of $15 million in damages. Seaside Farm Inc. v. U.S., No. 11-1199 (D.S.C., order entered December 16, 2015). The farm had…
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Black Pepper Slack-Fill Cases Consolidated
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has consolidated three putative consumer class actions and a competitor lawsuit challenging McCormick’s alleged under-filling of its non-transparent black pepper containers. In re McCormick & Co. Inc. Pepper Prods. Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2665 (D.D.C., transfer order filed December 8, 2015). The court found that the actions…
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CSPI Sues FDA for Failure to Act on Salt Petition
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to compel the agency to act on the advocacy group’s 2005 citizen petition requesting regulations about the use of salt as a food additive. Ctr. for Sci. in Pub. Interest v. FDA, No. 15-1651…
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Center for Food Safety Sues USDA for Ignoring FOIA Requests About GE Crops
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) alleging that the agency has routinely failed to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records related to genetically engineered (GE) crops. Ctr. for Food Safety v. Animal &…
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Humane Society’s “Other White Meat” Suit Revived
A lawsuit dismissed in 2013 alleging that the National Pork Board purchased the tagline “The Other White Meat” from the National Pork Producers Council for fraudulent reasons has been revived by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Humane Soc’y of the U.S. v. Vilsack, No. 13-5293 (D.C. Cir., order entered August 14, 2015). The…
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Court Finds Gerber Case Unaffected by Fourth Circuit Change in False Ad Standards
A California federal court has denied Gerber Products Co.’s attempt to dismiss a false advertising lawsuit about the company’s Good Start® Gentle based on the reasoning in a June 2015 Fourth Circuit decision that significantly changed the law. Zakaria v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 15-0200 (C.D. Cal., order entered July 14, 2015). The June decision…
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Fourth Circuit Confirms Dismissal of Spam Marketing Suit Against Kraft
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a case alleging that Kraft spammed an Internet service provider (ISP) with advertisements for its Gevalia® coffee products. Beyond Systems, Inc. v. Kraft Foods, Inc., No. 13-2137 (4th Cir., order entered February 4, 2015). Beyond Systems sued Kraft alleging violations of Maryland’s…