Category: 7th Circuit
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Class Action Filed Against Egg Producers in Salmonella Outbreak
A putative class action has apparently been filed in a federal court in Illinois by six named plaintiffs who allegedly became ill after consuming Salmonella-tainted eggs from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in Iowa. The plaintiffs’ attorney has reportedly been given permission to inspect the farms for evidence. According to a news source, the plaintiffs allege…
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Consumer Fraud Claims Against Manufacturers of Foods with Fiber Dismissed as Preempted
A federal court in Illinois has dismissed claims that companies failing to disclose that the fiber in their snack-bar and yogurt products is “non-natural” chicory root-based inulin, which allegedly lacks the same health benefits as “natural” fiber, have violated state consumer fraud laws. Turek v. General Mills, Inc., No. 09-7038 (N.D. Ill., decided September 1,…
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U.S. Files Criminal Charges in Honey Smuggling Operation
Federal officials have indicted executives of a German import company, a Chinese national and a number of companies, charging them with importing honey from China into the United States by illegal means that avoided the payment of duties and allowed product adulterated with antibiotics to enter the country. U.S. v. Wolff, No. 08-417 (N.D. Ill.,…
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Chicago Jury Awards $30.4 Million to Diacetyl-Exposed Factory Worker
According to a news source, a man who worked in a Chicago-area plant for eight years and was diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans has been awarded $30.4 million on claims that workplace exposure to the butter-flavoring chemical diacetyl left him with 25 percent of normal lung capacity that will require a lung transplant within the next 10…
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Deceptive Labeling Claims Against Beverage Maker Dismissed
A federal court in Illinois has dismissed claims that Coca-Cola labeling for its “classic” and “original formula” soda products violated consumer fraud laws because the products contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which did not exist when the beverage was first sold in the 1880s. Kremers v. Coca-Cola Company, No. 09-333 (S.D. Ill., decided April…
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Sodium Content Claims Against Denny’s Dismissed
A federal court in Illinois has dismissed putative class claims alleging that Denny’s Corp. fails to inform consumers that some of its menu items contain excessive levels of salt. Ciszewski v. Denny’s Corp., No. 09-5355 (N.D. Ill., decided April 7, 2010). Additional information about the case can be found in issue 318 of this Update.…
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DOJ Antitrust Complaint Against Dean Foods Survives Dismissal Motion
A federal court in Wisconsin has reportedly denied the motion to dismiss filed by Dean Foods Co. in antitrust litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the attorneys general of three states, challenging the company’s acquisition of a milk producer in 2009. U.S. v. Dean Foods Co., No. 10-59 (E.D. Wis., filed…
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Federal Court Dismisses Excess-Giblet Litigation
A federal court in Illinois has dismissed with prejudice the second amended complaint filed in putative class litigation alleging that a chicken processing company violated state consumer fraud and protection laws by selling its whole chickens with the extra giblets that it cannot sell with its cut-up chicken portions or as pet food. Nieto v.…