Tag: chocolate
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Hershey Accuses Importer of Infringing Reese’s, Cadbury Trade Dress
Hershey Co. has filed a complaint in Pennsylvania federal court alleging that LLB Imports infringes its trademarks and trade dress for several of its products, including Reese’s, York, Cadbury, Malteser, Kit Kat, and Rolo. Hershey Co. v. LLB Imports LLC, No. 14-1655 (M.D. Penn., filed August 25, 2014). According to the complaint, LLB Imports has been…
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Motion Filed to Settle White Chocolate Nationwide Class Claims
The parties to litigation alleging that Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. white chocolate products do not contain the requisite white chocolate ingredients to be labeled and promoted as such have agreed to settle the putative nationwide class action for $5.25 million and labeling changes. Miller v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Co., No. 12-4936 (N.D. Cal., motion filed August 20, 2014).…
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Putative Class Actions Accuse Whole Foods and Breyers of “All Natural” Mislabeling
According to a putative class action removed to Arkansas federal court, Whole Foods mislabels several of its 365 Everyday Value brand products as “organic” or “all natural” despite containing synthetic ingredients. Stafford v. Whole Foods Market Cal., No. 14-420 (E.D. Ark., removed July 22, 2014). Originally filed in Arkansas state court in June, the complaint accuses…
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Ninth Circuit Rejects Objections to Nutella Settlement
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the settlement of class actions alleging consumer fraud in ads portraying Nutella as a healthy breakfast food. In re Ferrero Litigation, No. 12-56469 (9th Cir., decided July 16, 2014) (unpublished). Three members of the certified statewide class objected to the settlement, which provided $550,000 to reimburse class…
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Court Dismisses Most Claims Against Hershey
A federal court in California has dismissed all but one claim in a putative consumer-fraud class action against The Hershey Co., finding that, based on his deposition, the plaintiff relied only on the label claims for antioxidants in making his purchasing decisions. Khasin v. The Hershey Co., No. 12-1862 (N.D. Cal., order entered May 5,…
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MDL Court Finds Chocolate Cos. Did Not Conspire to Increase Prices
A federal multidistrict litigation (MDL) court in Pennsylvania has determined that individual-purchaser plaintiffs and a direct-purchaser class failed to discover evidence that U.S. chocolate companies conspired to increase prices for immediate-consumption products between 2002 and 2007, and, with “nothing more than speculation as to the who, what, when, where, and how of communications that allegedly…
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Lindt and Haribo Spar over Gold Bears and Teddies
Lindt & Spruengli AG is once again facing trademark litigation over its gold-wrapped chocolate candy, this time for its “Teddy,” which Haribo GmbH claims infringes its “Gold-Bears” multi-colored gummy bears product. Lindt was unable to secure a European Union (EU) trademark for its chocolate bunny, but was able to stop Hauswirth in Austria from manufacturing…
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Codex Adopts New Food Safety and Nutrition Standards
The Codex Alimentarius has announced new food safety and nutrition standards that strive to “protect the health of consumers worldwide.” The regulations include guidance on preventing and reducing ochratoxin A—a reportedly carcinogenic contaminant—in cocoa, avoiding microbiological contamination of berries, preventing hydrocyanic acid in cassava, and when to label food with ”non-addition of sodium salts.” The commission also…