Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: Ohio

  • Ohio AG Brings Consumer Sales Practices Action Against Dannon

    The same day that the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement over alleged deceptive advertising claims for DanActive® beverage and Activia® yogurt, Ohio’s attorney general filed a lawsuit alleging that The Dannon Co. has violated the state’s Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA) by failing to substantiate the health-related claims it makes for the products. Ohio…

  • Court Considers Insurance Coverage for Listeria Contamination

    A federal court in Ohio has determined that, for the most part, an “all-risk” insurance policy excludes from coverage the losses sustained by a meat processor whose products were contaminated with Listeria during processing. HoneyBaked Foods, Inc. v. Affiliated FM Ins. Co., No. 08-01686 (N.D. Ohio, W. Div., decided December 2, 2010). Still, the court ordered…

  • Sixth Circuit Strikes Parts of Ohio Regulation Restricting Hormone-Free Labeling on Dairy Products

    The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that parts of an Ohio law regulating the use of labeling on dairy products from cows not treated with growth hormones violate the First Amendment. Int’l Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Boggs, Nos. 09-3515/3526 (6th Cir., decided September 30, 2010). The court also upheld other provisions and remanded…

  • Class Notification Underway in $35 Million Dannon Yogurt Settlement

    After a federal court in Ohio preliminarily approved the settlement of claims that The Dannon Co. deceived consumers by advertising the purported digestive health benefits of its Activia® and DanActive® products, class notification was initiated. Gemelas v. The Dannon Co., Inc., No. 08-236 (N.D. Ohio, order filed January 27, 2010). Without admitting liability, Dannon has agreed…

  • Humane Society Continues to Seek Animal Protection Laws in State Legislatures

    The Humane Society of the United States is apparently continuing to push for ballot initiatives and legislation that would impose new requirements on the livestock industry. In Vermont, legislators are considering a bill (S. 230) that would require that “a representative of the Vermont humane society be present when livestock are bled or slaughtered, and…

  • Federal Courts Remand Two Class Actions Against Applebee’s to State Court

    Federal courts in Ohio and Kentucky have remanded putative class claims alleging that Applebee’s International, Inc., DineEquity, Inc. and Weight Watchers International, Inc. misrepresented the calorie and nutritional information on the Weight Watchers menu items available in Applebee’s restaurants. Curry v. Applebee’s Int’l, Inc., No. 09-505 (S.D. Ohio, filed November 17, 2009); Kramer v. Applebee’s Int’l,…

  • Workplace Exposure Claims Against Diacetyl Makers Dismissed

    An Ohio appeals court has dismissed negligence, product liability, fraudulent concealment, and civil conspiracy claims filed against companies that supplied diacetyl to a flavoring company that employed two workers who allegedly contracted bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating lung disease, from exposure to the butter-flavoring chemical. Doane v. Givaudan Flavors Corp., No. C-080928 (Ohio Ct. App., decided…

  • Settlement Reached in Probiotic Yogurt Litigation

    Without admitting liability for alleged misleading advertising involving its probiotic yogurt products, The Dannon Co. has agreed to settle claims in seven putative class actions for $35 million. Gemelas v. The Dannon Co., Inc., No. 08-00236 (N.D. Ohio, stipulation of settlement filed September 18, 2009). If approved by the court, the settlement would also require…