Category: State Courts
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Meat Processor Sues ABC News for $1.2 Billion over “Pink Slime” Reports
Beef Products Inc. (BPI) has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News, Diane Sawyer and two former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) employees, among others, claiming that they “knowingly and intentionally published nearly 200 false and disparaging statements regarding the company and its product, lean finely textured beef (LFTB).” Beef Prods. Inc. v. ABC, Inc.,…
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Court Stops City’s Enforcement of Disclosure Law in Soft Drink Tax Fight
A federal court in San Francisco has issued a temporary injunction against the city of Richmond, California, to block enforcement of a law requiring campaign mailers to include information about “major funding from large out-of-city contributors.” Cmty. Coal. Against Beverage Taxes v. City of Richmond, No. 12-4545 (N.D. Cal., order entered September 7, 2012). The…
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Industry Interests Abandon Appeal of Adverse Ruling on Prop. 65 Listing of 4-MEI
Industry interests that lost their challenge to the listing of 4-MEI as a chemical known to California to cause cancer have abandoned the appeal they filed before the Third District Court of Appeals in February 2012. Cal. League of Food Processors v. OEHHA, No. C070406 (Cal. Ct. App., case complete August 15, 2012). Additional information…
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PCRM Failed to Investigate Grilled Chicken Claims, Court Dismisses Prop. 65 Warning Suits
A California court has reportedly dismissed claims filed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) against fast-food chains, finding that the group failed to investigate its allegations before suing under Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). PCRM v. McDonald’s Corp., No. BC383722; PCRM v. KFC Corp., No. BC457193 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., decided August…
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Organic Farmers Seek to Stop GM Canola Crops in Oregon
A nonprofit family farming organization, the Center for Food Safety and several seed companies have sued the Oregon Department of Agriculture seeking court review and a stay of a temporary rule that would open 1.7 million acres to genetically modified (GM) canola plants. Friends of Family Farmers v. Or. Dep’t of Agric., No. ___ (Or. Ct. App.,…
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California Resident Relied on Oxygenated Water Health-Benefit Claims
A Los Angeles County resident has filed a putative class action against the Austrian and British makers of “Oxygizer” water, claiming that the companies “falsely represent that through a patented process they are able to hyperoxygenate water and that consumption of Oxygizer leads to a number of purported beneficial health effects.” Ghazarian v. Oxy Beverages…
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Tuna Makers Agree to Settle Claims for Alleged Product Misrepresentations
The day after district attorneys for three California counties filed a lawsuit against tuna producers alleging that they make quantity misrepresentations “by failing to meet the standard of identity for canned tuna products seasoned or flavored with broth, as defined in the Code of Federal Regulations,” it was announced that a $3.3 million settlement had…
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California Court Dismisses Banana Plantation Lawsuit
A California Superior Court has reportedly dismissed a lawsuit filed by nearly 3,000 Philippine banana plantation workers who claimed that exposure to the pesticide 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) more than 30 years ago caused physical and mental injury including sterility, testicular atrophy, miscarriages, and cancer. Macasa v. Dole Food Co., No. BC467134 (Cal Super. Ct., decided August…