Category: 9th Circuit
-
Quaker Oats Wins Dismissal of Flavored-Oatmeal Litigation
A California federal court has dismissed with prejudice a putative consolidated class action alleging that Quaker Oats Co. falsely advertised its instant oatmeal as containing maple syrup, finding that the plaintiffs were unable to allege conduct not preempted by the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). In re Quaker Oats Maple & Brown Sugar…
-
Slack-Fill Complaint Filed Against Cookie Dough Bites Maker
A consumer has filed a putative class action alleging boxes of Cookie Dough Bites, made by Taste of Nature Inc., contain up to 58 percent slack fill. Gillespie v. Taste of Nature, Inc., No. 18-2105 (C.D. Cal., filed March 13, 2018). The complaint alleges that the candies are packed in a plastic pouch inside the…
-
University Sues Professor’s Company for Fruit Cultivar Patent Infringement
Washington State University (WSU) has filed a lawsuit alleging Phytelligence Inc., a WSU horticulture professor’s company, sold an apple cultivar to a third party, breaching a propagation contract and infringing the university’s patent. Wash. State Univ. v. Phytelligence Inc., No. 18-0361 (W.D. Wash., filed March 8, 2018). WSU allegedly agreed to allow Phytelligence, which aims…
-
Salt-and-Vinegar Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss
A California court has denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging the label of Frito-Lay North America Inc.’s Lay’s salt-and-vinegar-flavored potato chips fails to specify whether the vinegar flavoring is natural or artificial. Allred v. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., No. 17-1345 (S.D. Cal., entered March 7, 2018). The plaintiff couple filed similar lawsuits…
-
Court Denies Kellogg’s Motion to Dismiss Pringles Suit
A federal court in California has denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging false advertising of Kellogg Co.’s Pringles Salt & Vinegar chips, finding the plaintiffs adequately pleaded all elements of the complaint, including reasonable customer confusion and claims under state consumer-protection laws. Allred v. Kellogg Co., No. 17-1354 (S.D. Cal., entered…
-
Court Refuses to Dismiss Contaminated Dog Food Complaint
A federal court in Washington will allow plaintiffs to amend a false advertising complaint alleging that their dogs became sick after eating pet food contaminated with pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals. Mael v. Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co. Inc., No. 17-5469 (W.D. Wash., entered February 20, 2018). The complaint alleged that the…
-
Chicken Advertising Claims Not Preempted, Court Finds
Sanderson Farms Inc. lost a motion to dismiss false advertising claims brought by three advocacy organizations when a California federal court ruled that the claims are not preempted by either the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) or the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA). Organic Consumers Ass’n v. Sanderson Farms Inc., No. 17-3592 (N.D. Cal., entered…
-
Court Denies Class Certification in Gerber Baby Food Labeling Suit
A federal court in California has again denied class certification in a lawsuit alleging that Gerber Products Inc. misbranded baby food, finding that the plaintiff is not entitled to injunctive relief and that the proposed damages models will not provide the correct measure of restitution. Bruton v. Gerber Prods. Co., No. 12-2412 (N.D. Cal., entered…