Late last week, Shannon Hunt (Plaintiff) filed a putative class action against General Mills Sales, Inc.(Defendant) in the Northern District of Illinois. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s product labeling and marketing for its Nature Valley brand granola bars misleads consumers by falsely representing that the granola bars (the “Product,” as defined by Plaintiff) “…(1) will contain two ingredients — oats and honey and (2) that honey is the primary and/or a significant sweetener ingredient in Product,” when, in fact,”…the Product contains ingredients other than oats and honey and contains a de minimis amount of honey relative to conventional sugars.”
Plaintiff alleges that consumer have become increasingly concerned about the ill effects of sugar upon health, which has led to a demand for foods with lower sugar content. Plaintiff further alleges that this has led to consumers’ preferring foods sweetened with honey. With this consumer preference as background, Plaintiff alleges that through false and misleading packaging and advertising, ` “Defendant sold more of the Product and at higher prices than it would have in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers.”
Plaintiff seeks relief on behalf of two classes: purchasers in Illinois (the “Illinois Class”) and purchasers in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Mississippi and Utah (the “Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class”).
Plaintiff alleges six causes of action: Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act; Violation of State Consumer Fraud Acts (On Behalf of the Consumer Fraud Multi-State Class); Breaches of Express Warranty, Implied Warranty of Merchantability/Fitness for a Particular Purpose and Magnuson Moss Warranty Act; Negligent Misrepresentation; Fraud; and Unjust Enrichment. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief as well as monetary relief (including “statutory and or punitive damages”) and attorneys’ fees.
Plaintiff’s counsel is Sheehan & Associates, P.C.
