Posted inLawsuits

Cheese Co. Singled Out

What’s your favorite cheese?

Emphasized as a key Food That Built America, American cheese has remained a staple in households across the nation since James Kraft introduced it at the turn of the 20th century.  This episode of the History Channel’s popular food origin show concludes with food expert, Adam Richman reminiscently peeling apart the wrapper to a Kraft American cheese single, folding it, and taking a bite on camera.  Two and a half years after this episode aired, Kraft has issued a recall for this exact product.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Whopping New Claim

Not as advertised

Commercials, billboards, and flyers serve as some of the means for fast food marketers to reach their target audience of consumers that are on the go, in a rush, or are looking for easy meal alternatives.  The trick to grabbing their attention is just that: to trick.  While soda products appear crisp and fizzy with the help of antacids, the buoyancy of breakfast cereal in a bowl would lose its visual luster without the aid of glue.  It goes without saying that consumers may enjoy these products without antacids or glue, however, a new lawsuit may counter that argument.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Blanketed Disputes

Blankets and buffalo wings

A consumer that filed a class action lawsuit against Buffalo Wild Wings earlier this year is now turning his compensation efforts toward a home goods company.  In the restaurant lawsuit filed in March, the plaintiff, Aimen Halim, claimed that Buffalo Wild Wings falsely advertises its boneless buffalo wings as “wings,” when the meat is actually the white meat of a chicken.  In this lawsuit, Halim claimed that had he known that the boneless wings were not deboned wing meat and more resembled chicken nuggets, he might not have ordered that particular item, or he would have paid less.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Dark Patterned Future

Allegedly deceptive marketing

Due to the implementation of questionable business practices, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken legal action against Amazon.  Allegedly, to convince customers to enroll in Prime subscriptions, the company has engaged in trickery.  The effort has apparently been ongoing for years and has led to the positive outcome of increased sales for the company.  In the lawsuit filed by the FTC, the agency claims that Amazon not only uses deceptive techniques for attracting customers to the Prime subscription, but also makes it difficult for existing customers to cancel their subscriptions.  Some are not even aware that the subscriptions are recurring and are renewed without their consent.

2 minutes
Posted inLawsuits

Settlement is a Juul

E-cigarette marketing mishap

Initially filed in 2019, King County, WA targeted the company that produces and markets Juul e-cigarette products, Juul Labs Inc.  In the lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that Juul purposefully advertised its flavored vapor devices to teenagers and a younger generation.  Although the e-cigarette company challenged the claims brought against the company, the parties involved have agreed to settle the Washington state lawsuit for $23 million.  While based on the settlement agreement, King County may accumulate an additional $1.8 million, the compensation awarded in the lawsuit will aid in the funding of local tobacco-use prevention programs.

2 minutes