PC Food Litigation Index: March 2019

As we end the first quarter of 2019, we are seeing that the pace of class action filings in the food and beverage industry is consistent with the pace we saw in 2018.  California and New York continue to be hotbeds for activity with New York slightly outpacing California. Most of the filings in the first quarter were related to general false labeling claims. Several separate cases targeted the "Kona" labels on coffee, claiming that the coffee products at issue do not originate from the Kona District of Hawaii's Big Island. In addition, the labels of coconut-based products continued to come under attack.  The plaintiffs in several separate lawsuits alleged that the defendants' coconut milk is misleadingly marketed as healthy, claiming that there are harmful cardiovascular effects associated with the consumption of fat from coconuts. Fruit snacks, a frequent target in this area of health-related claims, are also at the center of a new lawsuit. The plaintiff in Jones v. Welch Foods, Inc. contends that the packaging of defendant's fruit snacks suggest that they are "nutritious, healthy, satiating and composed of non-synthetic ingredients." Among the more novel false fact challenges this month was a class action contesting the claims on A2 Milk Company's milk, which is touted as "Easier on Digestion" and "Naturally Easy to Digest," nixing the A1 proteins that "can cause you tummy discomfort." The plaintiff argues that these claims are scientifically unsubstantiated, and that it is lactose—not A1 proteins—that causes digestive difficulties. Annual Filing Trends     Filings by Jurisdiction   Filings by Category