On May 24, Kellogg Sales Co. defeated a third putative class action alleging that Strawberry Pop-Tarts mislead consumers, having defeated two other putative class actions in March. Represented by prolific plaintiffs’ firm, Sheehan & Associates, Stacy Chiappetta, Kelvin Brown, and Anita Harris each sued Kellogg after realizing that the filling in Strawberry Pop-Tarts contains not just strawberries, but also small amounts of dried pears, dried apples, and the food dye red 40. But two federal judges in Illinois and a third in New York have now agreed with Kellogg that the packaging of Strawberry Pop-Tarts is not misleading for the simple reason that the pastries in fact contain strawberries.
Plaintiffs Try to Hook Bumble Bee Tuna with Deceptive Marketing Claim
A recent lawsuit alleges that Bumble Bee Foods, one of the nation’s largest producers of canned tuna, does not use a “fair and safe supply chain,” as the company’s marketing claims.
The suit is the latest in a surge of cases filed under D.C.’s unique consumer-protection statute. The plaintiff, a D.C.-based nonprofit focused on labor rights, alleges that Bumble Bee’s primary tuna supplier (and now parent company) relies on fishing methods that are prone to labor abuses.
Separate from the merits, the suit raises thorny issues about when claims under D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (“CPPA”) can be removed to federal court.
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Supreme Court May Expand Where Corporations Are Subject to General Personal Jurisdiction
Where are corporations subject to general jurisdiction? The answer to that question matters a lot: if a corporation is subject to general jurisdiction in a state, anyone can sue it there on any claim. Traditionally, though, corporations have been subject to general jurisdiction in only two states: where they are incorporated and where they maintain their principal place of business.
The Supreme Court might now be poised to expand that list. On April 25, the Court granted certiorari in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., a case that asks whether states can require corporations to consent to personal jurisdiction as a condition of registering to do business in a state. If the Court says “yes,” that decision may pave the way to a new era of forum-shopping.