Category: U.S. Circuit Courts
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Grocery Bag Fee is Not a Tax, Colorado Supreme Court Holds
The Colorado Supreme Court has upheld a municipal ordinance charging a $0.20 “waste reduction fee” for paper grocery bags and prohibiting disposable plastic bags, ruling the charge is part of a regulatory program of waste management and not a tax. Colo. Union of Taxpayers Found. v. City of Aspen, No. 16SC377 (Colo., entered May 21,…
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Spangler Challenges Tootsie Roll Packaging in Trade Dress Lawsuit
Spangler Candy Co. has filed a lawsuit alleging that the packaging for Tootsie Roll Industries LLC’s Charms Mini Pops infringes its Dum Dums trade dress. Spangler Candy Co. v. Tootsie Roll Indus., LLC, No. 18-1146 (N.D. Ohio, filed May 18, 2018). Spangler asserts that for decades it has sold its lollipops in red bags with the…
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Rose Acre Farms Sold Contaminated Eggs, Lawsuit Alleges
A woman has filed a lawsuit alleging she was hospitalized after eating Salmonella-contaminated eggs from Rose Acre Farms Inc. Roberts v. Rose Acre Farms, Inc., No. 18-61082 (S.D. Fla., filed May 14, 2018). The plaintiff alleges that she purchased eggs packaged by Coburn Farms, a Sav-A-Lot Food Stores brand, and became ill enough to require two…
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Federal Court Dismisses Diet Pepsi Putative Class Action
A federal court in New York has dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging that Pepsi-Cola Co. falsely and deceptively used the term “diet” for its Diet Pepsi, leading consumers to believe that the beverage would help them lose weight or assist with “healthy weight management.” Manuel v. Pepsi-Cola Co., No. 17-7955 (S.D.N.Y., entered May…
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Plaintiff Alleges Halo Top Ice Cream Labeling is Deceptive
A New York plaintiff alleges Halo Top ice cream is falsely and deceptively labeled because it does not prominently display the term “light” on its labels, purportedly misleading consumers into believing it is regular full-fat ice cream. Berger v. Eden Creamery, LLC, No. 18-2745 (E.D.N.Y., filed May 9, 2018). Among other allegations, the plaintiff asserts that…
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Ferrara Candy Settles Slack Fill Putative Class Action
Ferrara Candy Co. has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a putative class action alleging its candy boxes contained an unnecessary amount of slack fill. Iglesias v. Ferrara Candy Co., No. 17-849 (N.D. Cal., motion filed May 10, 2018). Under the agreement, Ferrara will “modify its fill level quality control procedures and target fill levels to…
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Bumble Bee CEO Faces Felony Indictment For Alleged Tuna Price-Fixing
Christopher Lischewski, president and CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in California and charged with one count of felony price-fixing for his alleged role in a scheme to fix the price of canned and packaged seafood sold in the United States. U.S. v. Lischewski, No. 18-0203 (N.D. Cal., filed…
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Man Sues Burger King After Being Jailed for $10 Bill
Burger King Corp. faces a civil-rights lawsuit after an employee at a Boston location accused a man of trying to pay for food with an allegedly counterfeit $10 bill, refused to return the bill and called the police when the man would not leave the restaurant. Ellis v. Burger King Corp., No. 1884-CV-01489 (Mass. Super. Ct., Suffolk…