A six-member jury in Manhattan ruled on Friday that Del Monte Foods, the preserved food and pet food company, had misled consumers with the labeling on some of its cut, refrigerated fruit products and violated the terms of licensing agreements it has with Fresh Del Monte, the fresh fruit and vegetable company that was split off in 1989.
The jury awarded Fresh Del Monte $13.15 million in damages.
“We’re very pleased with the jury’s findings,” said Bruce Jordan, general counsel for Fresh Del Monte.
Arturo J. Gonzalez, the lawyer representing Del Monte Foods, said the company was considering its options. Sales of the disputed products amounted to about $1 billion over the last eight years, according to testimony in the trial.
“We’re pleased the award came in substantially lower than what they had asked for, which was $66 million to $270 million,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “Even if the jury did feel we did something wrong, it certainly didn’t think we caused the damages they said we had.”
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