Tag Archives: LAWSUIT

New York Judge Lifts 2-Year Stay on KIND “All Natural” Suit (subscription to Law360 required)

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A New York federal court ordered a consumer class action against KIND LLC to move forward after a two-year stay. Consumers are suing KIND for allegedly mislabeling its snack products as both “non-GMO” and “all natural,” even though the products purportedly contain synthetic and genetically modified ingredients.  On September 15, 2016, U.S. District Judge William … Continue Reading

Court Rules En Banc for Injunction Against San Francisco’s Health Warning Requirement for Soft Drink Ads

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  As previously covered on this blog, the City of San Francisco passed legislation in June 2015 that required health warnings to be placed on advertising for sugar-sweetened beverages (i.e., nonalcoholic beverages with caloric sweeteners that contain more than 25 calories per 12 oz.). Specifically, the warning would have read: “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added … Continue Reading

Second Circuit Remands “Whole Grain” Cheez-It Lawsuit

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a New York district court erred in ruling that labeling Kellogg’s Cheez-It crackers as “whole grain” was not misleading, despite the fact that the snacks were primarily made from enriched white flour.  Thus, the Second Circuit vacated the decision and remanded the case … Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Justice Sides with California Against States Opposing Egg Production Standards That Require Room for Chickens to Move

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As reported here, Missouri and twelve other states asked the U.S. Supreme Court on December 4, 2018 to hear their challenge to provisions of the California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act that require any eggs sold in the state to come from hens that have space to stretch out in their cages. The plaintiffs … Continue Reading

United Airlines Faces Multiple Food Safety Whistleblower Lawsuits

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United Airlines is facing three whistleblower lawsuits filed by employees who reported food safety concerns at its Newark catering facility.  The suits have been filed by United’s former senior manager of food safety, Marcia Lee; the General Manager of the Newark catering facility, Eliot Mosby; and Newark Food Safety Manager, Gustavo Moya—who allege that, after … Continue Reading

Judge in Roundup Cancer Case Considers Reducing Punitive Damages

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As previously reported in The Daily Intake, on August 10, 2018 Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million in his case against Monsanto, maker of the popular herbicide Roundup, by a San Francisco jury.  The award, which included $250 million in punitive damages, was to compensate Mr. Johnson for the lymphoma that he alleged was caused … Continue Reading

Court Rules on Preliminary Motions in NGO Suit on GRAS Rule

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On August 17, 2016, FDA finalized the rule – codified at 21 CFR Parts 170 and 570 for human food and animal feed respectively – that was originally proposed on April 17, 1997 permitting manufacturers to reach a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) determination with the option of notifying FDA.  Prior to 1997, companies were … Continue Reading

Putative Class Action Challenge to Diet Dr. Pepper in California Fails for the Fourth Time

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The Federal District Court for the Northern District of California has granted Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss (available for purchase here) in a putative class action originally filed in October 2017, which alleged that the marketing of Diet Dr. Pepper violated California’s False Advertising Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and Unfair Competition Law, … Continue Reading

CA Judge Certifies Class in Kellogg False Advertising Cereal Lawsuit (Law360 Subscription Required)

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On August 17, 2018, a California federal judge certified three classes of consumers who allege that Kellogg falsely advertises its Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, and Smart Start cereals as healthy. The 51-page order granting the motion for class certification found claims that Kellogg misled consumers about the sugar contents of its cereals can be resolved … Continue Reading

Is Pet Food the Next Front for “Natural” Lawsuits?

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Rachel Ray’s Nutrish dog food brand, alleging that “natural” claims were false and misleading under state consumer protection laws, based on testing that showed the presence of glyphosate residues. Glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup®, is an EPA-approved herbicide that is used on food crops, including crops that have … Continue Reading

NGOs Sue USDA Over Delay in Issuing BE Disclosure Rules

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The 2016 National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standards (NBFDS) Act directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop regulations and standards to create mandatory disclosure requirements for bioengineered (BE) foods by July 2018. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) filed a lawsuit in the Northern California U.S. District Court on August … Continue Reading

Will Pennsylvania Join Other States in Banning Local Soda Taxes?

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages approved by the Philadelphia city council in 2016 (see previous blogs here, here and here for background information on that tax and court challenges to the tax). Opponents of the tax had argued that the tax violated Pennsylvania’s Sterling Act of 1932, which prohibits … Continue Reading

Continuing Fallout from E. Coli Outbreak in Romaine

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According to the Wall Street Journal (paywall), the impact of the recent E. coli outbreak in romaine lettuce continues to ripple through the market, causing a 44.5% drop in retail sales of romaine as compared to the previous year and a 27.6% drop in sales of lettuce overall. Retailers, restaurants, and growers are already facing … Continue Reading

California Court Upholds Labor Code Listing Mechanism in Monsanto Glyphosate Case

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A California Court of Appeals has rejected various arguments made by Monsanto Company, challenging the listing of glyphosate based on the Proposition 65 Labor Code listing mechanism, where carcinogens listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer are automatically listed under Proposition 65. The court did not agree that the Labor Code listing of … Continue Reading

Judge Sides with Proposition 65 Plaintiffs in Acrylamide in Coffee Case

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In a recent proposed statement of decision, LA Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle dealt a blow to Starbucks and a number of other defendants in a case regarding Proposition 65 warnings for acrylamide in coffee, finding that the defense failed to support any of the three criteria necessary to support an alternative significant risk level … Continue Reading

Court Grants Injunction in Proposition 65 Glyphosate Warning Case

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A California court has granted an injunction enjoining various growers associations from providing Proposition 65 cancer warnings for crops grown with glyphosate.  In a motion for preliminary injunction, National Association of Wheat Growers et al. v. Zeise, the court held that a Proposition 65 warning conveying that glyphosate causes cancer would not be “factually accurate” … Continue Reading

Opposing Views and Uncertain Future for the Philadelphia Soda Tax

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15 Months In, Philly Still Plagued With Soda Tax Uncertainties (subscription to Law360 required) As previously covered on this blog, Philadelphia’s 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on distributors of sweetened beverages (including soda and diet soda, non-100% fruit drinks; sports drinks; flavored water; energy drinks; pre-sweetened coffee or tea; and non-alcoholic beverages intended to be mixed into alcoholic drinks) … Continue Reading

Washington State Sued over Termination of Salmon Farming Lease

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As previously reported on this blog last month, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the termination of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific’s Port Angeles net pen lease for salmon farming. Canadian-based Cooke Aquaculture (Cooke) filed a lawsuit in Clallam County Superior Court on January 4, 2018, claiming that the decision to terminate the lease was … Continue Reading

California Egg Law Challenged in U.S. Supreme Court

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Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced that 12 states have joined Missouri in a lawsuit challenging a California law requiring any eggs sold in the state to come from hens that have space to stretch out in their cages. The lawsuit was filed on December 4 to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2008, Californians approved, … Continue Reading

Philly Sweetened Beverage Tax Under Fire

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As previously covered on this blog, on June 16, 2016, the Philadelphia city council voted 13-4 to approve a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.  The tax – which took effect on January 1, 2017 – is levied on distributors and covers a variety of beverages, including soda and diet soda, non-100% fruit drinks; sports drinks; flavored water; energy drinks; … Continue Reading

Court Blocks San Francisco Law Requiring Warnings on Soft Drink Ads

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As previously covered on this blog, the City of San Francisco passed legislation in June 2015 that required health warnings to be placed on advertising for sugar-sweetened beverages (i.e., nonalcoholic beverages with caloric sweeteners that contain more than 25 calories per 12 oz.).  Specifically, the warning would have read:  “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes … Continue Reading
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