Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: Texas

  • First Lawsuit Filed in Blue Bell Listeria Contamination

    Amid ongoing recalls of Blue Bell Creameries’ ice cream products, a plaintiff has filed a lawsuit alleging that the company is liable for his severe listeriosis infection he says stems from the consumption of several varieties of contaminated products. Shockley v. Blue Bell Creameries Inc., No. 15-425 (W.D. Tex., filed May 19, 2015). The plaintiff…

  • Big Red Takes on Big Ben in Red Cream Soda Trademark Dispute

    Big Red, Inc., a beverage company owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Catawissa Bottling Co., alleging that the company packages its Big Ben cream soda too similarly to Big Red’s red cream soda product. Big Red, Inc. v. Catawissa Bottling Co., Inc., No. 15-1423 (N.D. Tex., filed…

  • Texas Settles Alamo Trademark Suit with Beer Cos.

    Texas has settled a trademark dispute with Alamo Beer Co. and Old 300 Brewing after the state intervened in Alamo Beer’s lawsuit alleging Old 300 infringed its trademarked Alamo silhouette. Alamo Beer Co. v. Old 300 Brewing, LLC, No. 14-285 (W.D. Tex., consent order entered April 28, 2015). According to court documents, the settlement establishes that…

  • Yogurt Sugar Content and “Non-GMO” Almond Milk Labels Challenged

    Whole Foods Market Inc. is the target of two new putative nationwide class actions, one filed in a Texas federal court regarding the amount of sugar in the company’s plain Greek yogurt and the other filed in a California state court over alleged false advertising and sales of Blue Diamond almond milk products with a…

  • “Flavor Infringement” Claim by Rival’s Italian Restaurant Is “Half-Baked”

    A Texas federal court has rejected the argument that the founders of Gina’s Italian Kitchen infringed New York Pizzeria, Inc.’s (NYPI’s) trademark flavor in its Italian dishes. New York Pizzeria, Inc. v. Syal, No. 13-335 (U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. Tex., order entered October 20, 2014). NYPI alleged that its former vice president and his business…

  • Court Says Texas Can Intervene in Lawsuit over “Alamo” Trademark

    Adopting a magistrate judge’s recommendation, a Texas federal court has ruled that Texas can intervene in a lawsuit brought by brewer Alamo Beer Co. alleging that Old 300 Brewing infringed Alamo Beer’s trademark for using the silhouette of the Alamo building on its labels. Alamo Beer Co. LLC v. Old 300 Brewing LLC, No. 14-285 (W.D. Tex.,…

  • Texas Intervenes in Breweries’ Alamo Trademark Dispute

    Texas has filed a motion to intervene in Alamo Beer Co. LLC’s trademark infringement suit against Old 300 Brewing LLC, asserting that the state has the rights to the “Alamo” mark. Alamo Beer Co. LLC v. Old 300 Brewing LLC, No. 14-285 (W.D. Tex., motion filed April 28, 2014). Filed in March 2014, Alamo Beer’s…

  • Prop. 65 60-Day Notices Cite Arsenic in Rice

    The Consumer Advocacy Group, Inc. has filed a series of Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) 60-day notices since December 2013 against supermarkets and rice companies in California, Texas and Taiwan, alleging violations of the law for failure to warn consumers that their rice products contain arsenic (inorganic arsenic compounds), known to the state to “cause both…