Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING—S.D. Ill.: Class certification properly granted in coffee misrepresentation suit, (Nov 23, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

A coffee manufacturer was denied reconsideration of an order granting class certification in an action alleging that the manufacturer misrepresented its coffee as premium, ground coffee when it was predominantly instant coffee. The federal district court in East St. Louis, Illinois, stood by its predominance analysis, but clarified that it referred to the question of “whether the packaging was likely to mislead a reasonable consumer” as the question of “liability” for readability reasons, knowing that reliance/proximate causation also bear on the issue of liability (Suchanek v. Sturm Foods, Inc., November 19, 2015, Rosenstengel, N.).

Consumers filed multiple class action lawsuits against Grove Square Coffee (GSC) manufacturer Sturm Foods, Inc. and its parent company, Treehouse Foods, Inc., alleging deceptive advertising under the consumer protection laws of eight states. The district court granted class certification on November 3, 2015, and Sturm subsequently moved for reconsideration, arguing that the court erred in concluding that liability is established solely by a finding that a reasonable consumer was likely to be deceived by a representation on the GSC packaging.

The court clarified that it referred to the question of “whether the packaging was likely to mislead a reasonable consumer” as the question of “liability” for readability reasons, noting that continuously repeating that question in the more than 50 page order would be cumbersome. In addition, the court acknowledged that it always understood that resolving the question of whether the GSC packaging was likely to mislead a reasonable consumer would not completely resolve the issue of liability because reliance/proximate causation also bear on that issue. Although the court apologized for any confusion caused by the shorthand, it found no reason to reconsider its finding that predominance is satisfied.

The case number is 11-CV-565-NJR-PMF.

Attorneys: Randy L. Gori (Gori Julian and Associates PC) For Linda Suchanek. Aaron J. Weinzierl (Foley & Lardner) for Sturm Foods, Inc. and Treehouse Foods, Inc.

Companies: Sturm Foods, Inc.; Treehouse Foods, Inc.

Cases: Advertising ConsumerProtection StateUnfairTradePractices IllinoisNews