Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: 8th Circuit

  • Eighth Circuit Upholds Prison Sentences for Egg Execs

    The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the legality of three-month prison sentences handed down to former Quality Egg, LLC executives Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter, former officials of the company deemed responsible for a 2010 Salmonella outbreak traced to its Iowa egg farms. United States v. Quality Egg, LLC, No. 15-1890…

  • Cruz-Alvarez, Canfield Analyze SCOTUS Ruling in Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo

    “The U.S. Supreme Court recently deviated from its historically stringent view on class certification and affirmed an Eighth Circuit decision to uphold certification of a class of Tyson Foods, Inc. employees who brought suit against Tyson for a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA),” Shook Miami attorneys Frank Cruz-Alvarez and Rachel…

  • Halal Food Co. Executive Found Guilty of Making False Export Statements

    An Iowa federal jury has found William Aossey , the former owner of Midamar Corp., guilty of making false export statements along with conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from the company’s misrepresenta- tion of the source of food exported to Malaysia and Indonesia. U.S. v. Aossey, No. 14-0116 (N.D. Iowa, jury verdict entered July 13,…

  • Listing ECJ on Cookie Label Misleads About Sugar Content, Putative Class Action Against Whole Foods Alleges

    A consumer has filed a proposed class action against Whole Foods Market Group Inc. alleging that the company’s Gluten Free All-Natural Nutmeal Raisin Cookies list evaporated cane juice (ECJ) as an ingredient to mislead consumers about the amount of sugar contained in the product. Bryant v. Whole Foods Mkt. Grp. Inc., No. 15-1001 (E.D. Mo.,…

  • Watkins Sues McCormick over Slack-Filled Packaging

    Watkins Inc., a Minnesota-based company known for its black pepper, has filed a lawsuit against McCormick and Co., Inc., a global purveyor of spices, alleging that McCormick recently began underfilling its pepper containers but continued using the same size of packaging. Watkins Inc. v. McCormick and Co., No. 15-2688 (D. Minn., filed June 9, 2015).…

  • Shook Partner Discusses “Meta” Class of Class Counsel After GMO-Rice MDL

    In a May 5, 2015, Law360 analysis, Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partner Andy Carpenter chronicles a “meta” class action against Riceland Foods, Inc., a party to multidistrict litigation (MDL) stemming from the use of genetically modified organism (GMO) rice, which several thousand rice farmers alleged had tainted the U.S. rice supply. After Riceland obtained a…

  • “Natural Source of Antioxidants” Not a Nutrient-Content Claim, Court Says

    An Arkansas federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging that Twinings North America, Inc. mislabeled its tea by including the statement that the product is a “natural source of antioxidants” on its packaging. Craig v. Twinings North Am., Inc., No. 14-5214 (W.D. Ark., order entered February 5, 2015). The plaintiff had argued…

  • Claims Trimmed in Bacon-Related Action Against Hormel

    A Minnesota federal court has granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit alleging that Hormel Food Corp. stole trade secrets and breached contractual agreements in its joint venture to develop new methods of cooking bacon. Unitherm Food Sys. Inc. v. Hormel Food Corp., No. 14-4034 (D. Minn., order…