Pork Producers Win Dismissal of Price-Fixing Lawsuits – U.S. Judge

August 9, 2019 Jonathan Stempel, Reuters

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed antitrust lawsuits accusing several U.S. pork companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $20 billion-a-year market, in order to inflate prices and their own profits at the expense of consumers and other purchasers.

Enviro Groups Have No Standing To Sue Sanderson Farms Over ‘100% Natural’ Ads – Judge

August 6, 2019 Jim Christie, Reuters

Poultry producer Sanderson Farms Inc won a court order on Wednesday dismissing a lawsuit by two advocacy groups that accused it of misleading consumers by advertising its chicken as “100% natural” despite tests that found antibiotics in the birds.

Judge Dismisses Whole Foods Overcharging Lawsuit

July 19, 2019 JEN CHUNG, Gothamist

Four years ago, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs revealed that Whole Foods stores had been ripping off customers by overcharging them for pre-packaged items. The investigation led to lawsuits alleging “deceptive practices, false advertising, unjust profits, breach of contract” with damages in the millions. Now, a U.S. District Court judge has sided with Whole Foods and tossed out the lawsuit.

Hormel Lawsuit Reveals What ‘Natural’ Meat Really Means

On April 8, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia—a jurisdiction with stringent consumer protection laws—dismissed a lawsuit by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) alleging Hormel was misleading consumers. The court held that as long as manufacturer labels are approved by the USDA, the advertising can use the “natural” claims. “[I]f a producer can accurately use a term in a label,” the court wrote, “the producer should be able to use the same term in its advertising.”

Lawsuit: Nellie’s Hens are Mistreated and Eggs Aren’t Free-Range

A class-action lawsuit against the company and its parent, Pete and Gerry’s Organics LLC, contends that Nellie’s is “misrepresenting to the public” how it treats eggs on its cartons and website, according to the complaint filed late Wednesday in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.