Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Category: 9th Circuit

  • Idaho “Ag-Gag” Statute Struck Down

    An Idaho federal court has invalidated a state law that criminalized undercover investigations at agricultural manufacturing plants, finding that the law criminalized speech in violation of the First Amendment. Animal Legal Def. Fund v. Otter, No. 14-0104 (D. Idaho, order entered August 3, 2015). The 2014 Idaho statute passed after an animal-rights organization publicized a…

  • Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Challenge to Shark Fin Law

    The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling dismissing a challenge to California’s law criminalizing the sale or distribution of shark fin. Chinatown Neighborhood Ass’n v. Harris, No. 14-15781 (9th Cir., order entered July 27, 2015). The plaintiffs, two groups representing Asian-Americans who seek to serve shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese…

  • San Francisco SSB Statute Violates First Amendment, Industry Lawsuit Argues

    The American Beverage Association (ABA) has partnered with California retail and advertising associations to challenge San Francisco ordinances requiring warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) advertisements and prohibiting advertisements of such products on city property. Am. Beverage Ass’n v. City of San Francisco, No. 15-3415 (N.D. Cal., filed July 24, 2015). ABA argues that the ordinances…

  • California Court Dismisses Labeling Claims from Cup Noodles® Trans Fat Dispute

    A California federal court has dismissed claims challenging the trans fats labeling of Nissin Foods Co. Inc.’s Cup Noodles® but allowed to continue allegations that the use of partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) violates California law. Guttmann v. Nissin Foods (U.S.A.) Co., Inc., No. 15-0567 (N.D. Cal., order entered July 15, 2015). The plaintiff challenged the…

  • Putative “Handmade”-Labeling Class Action Dismissed Against Maker’s Mark

    A California federal court has dismissed a putative class action against Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc. alleging that its whiskey is mislabeled as “handmade” because it uses machines to produce the product. Nowrouzi v. Maker’s Mark Distillery, Inc., No. 14-2885 (S.D. Cal., order entered July 27, 2015). Additional information about the complaint appears in Issue 548…

  • 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…

  • Safeway Recall Notification Putative Class Action Paused During Search for New Plaintiffs

    Finding a lack of standing, a California federal court has dismissed the named plaintiffs of a putative class action against Safeway alleging that the company should have notified customers who purchased dangerous products through information gathered from its loyalty-card program. Hensley-Maclean v. Safeway, Inc., No. 11-1230 (N.D. Cal., order entered June 29, 2015). Details about…

  • Federal Court Invalidates Maui’s Ban on GMOs

    A Hawaii federal court has ruled that a Maui ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is preempted by the Plant Protection Act and therefore invalid. Robert Ito Farm, Inc. v. Cty. of Maui, No. 14-0582 (D. Haw., order entered June 30, 2015). The decision begins with an introduction clarifying that the court recognizes the importance…