Category: State Courts
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Kroger “Simple Truth” Chicken Labeling Challenged in Class Action
Represented by animal rights organization Compassion over Killing, a California resident has filed a putative statewide class action against the Kroger Co., alleging that it misleads consumers by labeling its store-brand chicken products as “sourced from chickens raised ‘cage free in a humane environment,’” when the company’s “Simple Truth” chickens “are treated no differently than…
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Texas Appeals Court Dismisses Mushroom Distributor’s Malpractice Action
A Texas Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s grant of the defendants’ summary judgment motion in a legal malpractice action brought by a mushroom distributor, finding that he failed to prove lost profits as to his negligence claim and filed his breach of fiduciary duty claim too late under the applicable statute of…
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Florida Class Action Filed over ECJ Designation on Food Ingredient Lists
A putative statewide consumer-fraud class action has been filed in a Florida state court against Living Harvest Foods, Inc. over use of the term “evaporated cane juice” (ECJ) on food product labels rather than sugar. Miller v. Living Harvest Foods Inc., No. __ (Fla. Cir. Ct., Miami-Dade Cty., filed January 30, 2014). While the specific products…
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Putative Class Claims Decaffeinated Coffee Labels Mislead
A California resident has filed a putative statewide class action against Ralphs Grocery Co., alleging that it misleads consumers by labeling its decaffeinated coffee products as “without caffeine” when they are actually, according to labeling fine print, “99.7% caffeine free.” Kopalian v. Ralphs Grocery Co., No. BC533846 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed January…
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Food Activist Targets Gatorade Ad in New York AG Complaint
Food activist and blogger Nancy Huehnergarth has reportedly filed a complaint with the New York attorney general (AG) over a purportedly deceptive “viral advertising campaign” from 2013 featuring a mobile game that promoted Gatorade® as a performance enhancer while denigrating water as “the enemy of performance.” According to a news source, gamers using the app…
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Oregon AG Sues 5-Hour ENERGY® Makers Seeking Information
Oregon Attorney General (AG) Ellen Rosenblum has reportedly filed an action in state court against the companies that make and promote 5-hour ENERGY®, a drink purportedly linked to adverse incidents including fatalities, seeking to enforce her demand for information about the product. The lawsuit against Innovation Ventures, Living Essentials and Microdose Sales, filed in Multnomah…
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Organic Labeling-Based Claims Dismissed as Preempted
Addressing a question of first impression, a California appeals court has dismissed a putative class action alleging that Herb Thyme Farms mislabeled its certified organically grown herbs as “USDA Organic” because the contents included a mix of organically and conventionally grown herbs. Quesada v. Herb Thyme Farms, Inc., No. B239602 (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist.,…
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ERC Claims Diet Shakes and Bars Contain Lead
The Environmental Research Center (ERC) has reportedly filed a lawsuit under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) against a company that allegedly sells “meal replacement” shakes and “hunger blocker” bars containing lead, a chemical known to California as a reproductive toxicant and cause of cancer. ERC v. Ideal Shape LLC, No. __ (Cal. Super. Ct., Alameda Cty.).…