Well, a judge has refused to certify an injunctive class based on “natural” deception where the company changed its practices in response to a CLRA notice letter, prior to the lawsuit. Most courts will hold that this moots an injunctive relief claim (incorrectly, in my opinion, because I don’t trust food companies not to […]
Author Archives: Steve Gardner
By Stephen Gardner Nestlé has been sued in California state court for shenanigans involving products of its Gerber division. Nestlé sells a line of products called Gerber Graduates, aimed at parents whose small children have just started eating solid foods. Because parents understandably want to give healthy snacks to their kids, Nestlé wants to grab […]
By Stephen Gardner According to a story in Food Navigator, Whole Foods filed a motion to dismiss (Download Motion to Dismiss) a lawsuit over the chicanery of its using the FDA-Disapproved term "Evaporated Cane Juice" instead of calling it what it is, "Sugar," because consumers intuitively understand that evaporated cane juice is sugar. I assume Whole Foods will […]
By Steve Gardner In Astaina v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (download here), and just two days after a district court’s decision in Anderson v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (discussed here), the Ninth Circuit dealt Hain another blow to its efforts to trick consumers into buying products falsely called “natural,” this time involving cosmetics, not food. […]
by Steve Gardner Earlier this week, in Anderson v Hain (highlights added), Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California issued an opinion on a motion to dismiss that is a good example of the trend to accept consumer pleadings of deception in food labeling. The Northern District judges have considered food deception issues repeatedly […]
by Steve Gardner On March 31, another federal court rejected another a motion to dismiss another “natural” claims lawsuit. Download here: Langan v J&J. The first paragraph of the opinion does at least as good a job as I could of summarizing the case: This case is about the use of the word “natural” on […]
by Steve Gardner On Friday the 13th, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion roundly rejecting almost every defense food companies use to try to avoid getting to the truth of the matter, in Reid v. Johnson & Johnson. The summary by court staff sets up the facts well: McNeil declared on Benecol’s label that the […]
by Steve Gardner My firm, the Stanley Law Group, filed a class action today against Toyota, Ford, and General Motors because of a defect that allows cars to be hacked and control wrested away from the driver. The Complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. You can download the […]
Yesterday, a federal court in Arkansas issued an opinion that misinterprets federal food labeling law, preemption law, and the use of logic. The case is Craig v. Twinings North America, Inc. Download Opinion Craig v. Twinings Doc 29. Twinings claimed that its tea was a “natural source” of antioxidants. The plaintiff alleged (but I have […]
by Steve Gardner The DC Circuit just issued its opinion in POM’s appeal of the FTC’s excellent order against POM for some of its marketing practices. The opinion is 45 pages long, so let me provide the Court’s own summary of the opinion: The FTC Act proscribes—and the First Amendment does not protect—deceptive and misleading […]