CSPI's "High Sodium" Consumer Fraud Class Action Against Denny's Is Reportedly Dismissed for Failure to Plead Injury
The Nation's Restaurant News is reporting that on Tuesday a New Jersey Superior Court dismissed a putative statewide class action lawsuit alleging that Denny's restaurants were violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and breaching the implied warranty of merchantability by including on their menus items that allegedly were high in sodium without providing sodium content information on the menu. The plaintiff was represented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Litigation Project. The complaint was filed in July and sought injunctive relief requiring Denny's to provide sodium content for its menu items and warn about the alleged risks of high-sodium food.
According to the article, the court dismissed the suit because plaintiff had no physical injury and thus could not meet the requirements of New Jersey's Products Liability Act, which the court held was a prerequisite to asserting the CFA and implied warranty claims. The decision was not immediately available.
