Category Archives: california

false omission claim fails for insufficiently alleged facts about crib bumper risks

Corral v. Carter’s Inc., 2014 WL 197782, No. 1:13–cv–0262 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2014) Plaintiff sued Carter’s for basically the usual California claims in connection with Carter’s crib bumpers—“a strip of thin padding that is intended to affix to the … Continue reading

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No records, no class action against Chipotle

Hernandez v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 12-cv-05543 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 2, 2013) The court rejected a proposed class action based on Chipotle’s alleged practice of serving conventionally raised meats on occasions when “naturally raised” meats were not available, though it … Continue reading

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"stable," "traditional" and "family-based" are puffing descriptions of housing development

Kelly v. Beazer Homes USA, Inc., — Fed.Appx. —-, 2014 WL 107961 (9th Cir. Jan. 13, 2014) Plaintiffs bought homes from defendants; the court of appeals affirmed the dismissal of their various fraudulent concealment etc. claims based on the condition … Continue reading

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Inability to determine who bought what dooms class certification

Astiana v. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., 2014 WL 60097, No. C 10-4387 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 7, 2014) The court denied certification to a proposed class who bought ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s that contained alkalized cocoa and were … Continue reading

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Bumble Bee pushes the envelope, finds lawsuit inside

Ogden v. Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, No. 12-CV-01828, 2014 WL 27527 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 2, 2014) I’m trying to do less food claim blogging, but I noted this case because of the summary judgment submissions, which contain interesting evidence about … Continue reading

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"Natural" is too vague to be false advertising

Balser v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc., No. CV 13–05604, 2013 WL 6673617 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2013)   Plaintiffs sued Hain for using “natural” and “100% vegetarian” on over 30 of its cosmetics, and the court dismissed the complaint.  Fraud … Continue reading

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Claims relating to organic content completely preempted

Quesada v. Herb Thyme Farms, Inc., — Cal. Rptr. 3d —-, No. B239602, 2013 WL 6730808 (Ct. App. Dec. 23, 2013) The court found that the federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 preempts state consumer lawsuits alleging violations of … Continue reading

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"Natural" plus green imagery not puffery for diapers and wipes

Jou v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., No. C-13-03075, 2013 WL 6491158 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2013) (magistrate judge) Plaintiffs brought the usual California claims and claims under Wisconsin law based on the “green” marketing of Huggies “pure & natural” diapers and “Natural … Continue reading

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plaintiff not enough of a competitor to win false marking claim

Sukumar v. Nautilus, Inc., No. 7:11–cv–00218, 2013 WL 6408351 (W.D. Va. Dec. 6, 2013) Previousdiscussion.  The court goes through a lot of facts and effort here to confirm that the AIA made false marking claims essentially impossible to win, and … Continue reading

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soy and almond milk couldn’t deceive reasonable consumers

Ang v. Whitewave Foods Co., No. 13-cv-1953, 2013 WL 6492353 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2013) Plaintiffs sued over defendants’ Silk and Horizon products. The Silk products are plant-based beverages, including Silk Vanilla Soymilk, Silk Almond Milk, and Silk Coconut Milk.  … Continue reading

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