Category: 7th Circuit
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Seventh Circuit Vacates Judgment, Allows Grove Square Coffee Pods Putative Class Action to Continue
A district court erred in denying class certification and granting summary judgment to Sturm Foods and its parent company Treehouse Foods in a putative class action accusing the coffee manufacturer of misleading consumers to believe its Keurig-compatible coffee pods contained high-quality coffee rather than low-quality instant coffee, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has decided.…
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ECJ Claims Against Snack Maker Not Plausible
A federal court in Illinois has dismissed without prejudice a putative class action alleging consumer fraud against a company that makes snacks which list evaporated cane juice (ECJ) as an ingredient. Ibarrola v. Kind, LLC, No. 13-50377 (N.D. Ill., order entered July 14, 2014). The court declined to address whether the plaintiff had standing to…
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Indiana Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Chilled Beer Sales Limit
An Indiana federal court has upheld a state statute that limits the sale of cold beer to package liquor stores, barring other beer sellers like convenience stores from selling beer cooler than room temperature. Ind. Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Ass’n v. Huskey, No. 13-784 (S.D. Ind., order entered June 16, 2014). Indiana law divides…
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Settlement Reached in Coverage Dispute for Four Loko Maker
The company that makes Four Loko, a caffeinated malt liquor beverage allegedly responsible for the deaths of five consumers, has reached a settlement with two Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. units which had sought a declaration that a policy exclusion freed them from defending or indemnifying the beverage maker in the underlying lawsuits. The Netherlands Ins.…
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Seventh Circuit Says No Duty to Defend Four Loko® Maker
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that Phusion Projects’ commercial liability insurance carriers have no duty to defend the company in actions alleging that intoxication attributable to consumption of its Four Loko® alcoholic product caused death and personal injury. Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Phusion Projects, Inc., No. 12-1355 (7th Cir., decided December 16,…
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Single-Serve Coffee Class Denied Certification
A federal court in Illinois has denied a request that it reconsider an earlier order denying certification of a multi-state class of single-serve coffee purchasers allegedly deceived into believing that the product was ground coffee and not instant; the court has also granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment. Suchanek v. Sturm Foods, Inc., No. 11-565…
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Confusion Deemed Likely in Cracker Barrel Infringement Dispute
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a district court properly granted Kraft Foods a preliminary injunction against the sale of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBOCS) food products in grocery stores under Kraft’s registered trademark name “Cracker Barrel.” Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., No. 13-2559…
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No Class Certification for Plaintiffs Alleging Fraud in Sale of Coffee Product
A federal court in Illinois has refused to certify a multistate class of consumers who were allegedly deceived under the consumer protection statutes and unjust enrichment laws of eight named states by a company that, at one time, either misrepresented or failed to indicate that its single serving coffee product contained “instant” or “soluble” coffee…