Tag: grocery
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Grocers Sued Under Prop. 65 for Purportedly Selling Lead-Tainted Honey
The Center for Environmental Health has reportedly sued several grocery chains in California alleging that independent testing has shown that the honey they were selling contains high levels of lead in violation of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65). Some of the honey purchased and tested allegedly contained lead levels more than double the legal limit. According…
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Chipotle Claims Kroger Chicken Product Infringes and Dilutes Its Trademark
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., which operates 1,250 “fast-casual” restaurants throughout the United States, has sued The Kroger Co. in Colorado federal court, alleging that the grocery store chain has infringed the CHIPOTLE® trademark by using the descriptor on its spicy fried chicken take-out products. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. v. The Kroger Co, 12-930 (D. Colo., filed…
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D.C. District Court Refuses to Certify Class in Antitrust Suit Against Whole Foods
A federal court in the District of Columbia has denied a motion to certify a class of Los Angeles County Whole Foods shoppers alleging that the company’s 2007 merger with Wild Oats “substantially lessened competition” in violation of the Clayton Act, “created an unlawful monopoly” under the Sherman Act, and “constituted an unlawful agreement in…
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New Lawsuits Filed: “Natural” Orange Juice, Mislabeled Butter, City vs. State in Trans Fat Dispute, Lack of FDA Action on Nanotechnology Petition
Putative class actions have been filed in New Jersey and California federal courts against Tropicana Products, Inc., alleging that the company misleads consumers by labeling and marketing its orange juice as “100% pure and natural,” when it actually “undergoes extensive processing which includes the addition of aromas and flavors.” Lynch v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., No.…
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Putative Class Alleges Trader Joe’s “All Natural” Products Contain Artificial Ingredients
California residents have filed a putative class action in a federal court against grocery chain Trader Joe’s Co., alleging that a number of its “All Natural” products contain synthetic or artificial ingredients and thus are mislabeled and falsely advertised. Larsen v. Trader Joe’s Co., No. 11-5188 (N.D. Cal., filed October 24, 2011). According to the…
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Coffee Drinker Claims That Safeway Misled Purchasers of “Kona Blend”
After Kona coffee growers called for Safeway, Inc. to comply with Hawaiian regulations on labeling Kona coffee, a California resident filed a putative class action against the company in federal court, alleging that its Safeway Select™ “Kona Blend” coffee contains “very little Kona coffee bean content.” Thurston v. Safeway, Inc., No. 11-04285 (N.D. Cal., filed…
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Zoe Tillman, “Grocery bagged,” The National Law Journal, August 22, 2011
According to District of Columbia court reporter Zoe Tillman, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is currently considering a motion to certify a class in litigation filed by a California consumer in 2008 to challenge the merger of Whole Foods Market Inc. and Wild Oats. As Tillman notes, in March 2009 the Federal Trade Commission settled…
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Antitrust Laws Implicated When Competing Supermarkets Agree to Share Revenues During Labor Dispute
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided en banc ruling, has determined that while an agreement between competitors to share revenues during a labor dispute is not immune from antitrust laws, the district court properly denied a challenge to an agreement between California supermarkets as a per se violation of the Sherman Act…