Übersicht

The food and beverage industry is facing a rising tide of lawsuits and regulatory enforcement actions over product labeling and advertising. With more than 40 lawyers in our Consumer Litigation & Class Actions practice, a world-class Antitrust practice, and one of the top-ranked Supreme Court & Appellate practices, Mayer Brown is exceptionally qualified to defend food, beverage and supplement manufacturers in complex class action matters. In matters involving false advertising, antitrust, patent, trademark, trade secrets, distributor relations and trade practices, we bring to bear our significant and wide-ranging experience on behalf of many of the largest national and international food and beverage companies in the world.

Erfahrung

  • Backus v. Nestlé USA, Inc., 167 F. Supp. 3d 1068, 2016 WL 879673 (N.D. Cal. 2016). Secured a ground-breaking victory for Nestlé USA and its iconic Coffee-mate brand when a federal judge in the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a consumer class action complaint.  Plaintiffs alleged that Nestlé’s mere use of partially hydrogenated oil in Coffee-mate was unlawful, and that labeling statements touting the product as having “0g Trans Fat” was misleading. The court ruled that plaintiff’s ‘use’ theory was an obstacle to federal law and therefore preempted, and that plaintiff’s false advertising theory, which attempted to impose labeling requirements not identical to federal law, was expressly preempted.
  • In re Chocolate Confectionery Antitrust Litigation, 999 F. Supp. 2d 777, (M.D. Pa. 2014), aff’d, 801 F.3d 383 (3rd Cir. 2015). Mayer Brown litigators helped secure a significant summary judgment victory for Nestlé USA in one of the largest multi-district antitrust litigations to date in the United States. The litigation consisted of over 90 federal lawsuits and alleged a conspiracy with Mars, Hershey and Cadbury to fix the price of chocolate candy products sold in the United States. These complaints were brought on behalf of direct and indirect putative class plaintiffs and large individual corporate plaintiffs (e.g., Safeway, Kroger, CVS) that were not seeking class status. The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Nestlé USA.
  • Kane v. Chobani, Inc., 973 F.Supp.2d 1120 (N.D. Cal. 2014). Defense of a putative nationwide consumer class action alleging false advertising under California consumer protection laws with respect to Greek yogurt products marketed as containing “only natural ingredients” and listing “evaporated cane juice” as an ingredient. A motion to dismiss was granted. 2013 WL 5289253. The plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction was denied. 2013 WL 3776172. A motion to disqualify the plaintiffs’ expert was granted. 2013 WL 3991107. After a third amended complaint, a second motion to dismiss was granted with prejudice. 2014 WL 657300. Judgment in Chobani’s favor currently on appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
  • Chavez v. Nestlé USA, 511 Fed. App’x. 606 (9th Cir. 2013). Defended a putative nationwide consumer class action alleging false advertising under California consumer protection laws with respect to juice products marketed as supporting brain development, immunity and digestive health. The case was dismissed following three successive, successful motions to dismiss (2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58734, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58731, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58733). Judgment in defendant’s favor affirmed in part on appeal.
  • Carrea v. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, 475 Fed. Appx. 113 (9th Cir. 2012). Defended a putative nationwide consumer class action alleging false advertising under California consumer protection laws with respect to frozen dessert products labeled “0g trans fat,” “original,” and “classic.” A motion to dismiss the second amended complaint was granted in 2011, 2011 WL 159380 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 2011). The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal on April 5, 2012.

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