(Updated): EDNY Refuses to Dismiss Consumer Fraud Complaint Against Vitaminwater
The Nattering Nutrition Nannies scored a victory last week in the Eastern District of New York -- a victory against beverage giant The Coca-Cola Company and, more important, a victory against common sense and personal responsibility. Last Wednesday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and its co-counsel persuaded a federal court to deny Coca-Cola's motion to dismiss a putative nationwide consumer fraud class action challenging the beverage "vitaminwater" made by Coca-Cola's subsidiary, Glaceau. See Ackerman v. The Coca-Cola Company, No. CV-09-0395 (JG) (RML), Slip op. (E.D.N.Y. July 21, 2010).
In Ackerman, Plaintiffs allege that the name, "vitaminwater," along with a description of the vitamins in the water and slogans about health are deceptive because they mislead people to believe that the beverages do not have sugar or calories in them. As the court described plaintiffs' theory:
The plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that the collective effect of the challenged statements was to mislead a reasonable consumer into believing that vitaminwater is either composed solely of vitamins and water, or that it is a beneficial source of nutrients rather than a "food of little or no nutritional value [which has been fortified] for the sole purpose of" claiming or implying that it is "healthy." 58 Fed. Reg. 2478, 2522.
Slip op. at 32.
Of course, there's one major problem with that theory: the nutrition facts label on every bottle of vitaminwater discloses that there are a certain number of grams of sugar in the product, and that an 8 ounce serving of the drink contains a certain number of calories. So the fact that there is an ingredient other than vitamins and water -- namely, sugar -- is plain to anyone who can read. Nevertheless, the court allowed this claim to survive the pleading stage, so now there will be lots of expensive discovery and motion practice on a theory that is patently ridiculous.
(An additional sign to the consumer that there is something besides vitamins and water in the product is the fact that it is sweet -- some might even complain that it is cloyingly sweet. This has led Glaceau to release "vitaminwater 10," which has ten calories per serving, and now "vitaminwater zero," which has -- you guessed it -- zero calories per serving. The court ducked the sweetness argument by stating that "there is no evidence before me concerning vitaminwater's taste." Slip op. at 35.)
The court's response to the fact that sugar is listed as an ingredient right on the label was to declare that "the presence of a nutritional panel, though relevant, does not as a matter of law extinguish the possibility that reasonable consumers could be misled by vitaminwater's labeling and marketing." Slip op. at 34. The court relied heavily on Williams v. Gerber Products Co., 552 F.3d 934 (9th Cir. 2008), in which the Ninth Circuit had held that the packaging of a product called "Fruit Juice Snacks" could be misleading where it pictured various fruits on the label, but did not actually contain the juice of any of the pictured fruits, and only revealed this fact on the product label.
But Ackerman is no Williams. There were no allegations that the packaging or marketing for vitaminwater contained any false statements or pictures. Unlike the "Fruit Juice Snacks" at issue in Williams, which did not contain the juice of the pictured fruits, vitaminwater actually contains the vitamins the marketing discusses. And the fact that it also contains sugar is stated right on the Nutrition Facts label in close proximity to the disclosures of the percentages of the vitamins and minerals that would surely interest vitaminwater's consumers.
This complaint is as deficient on its face as the Crunchberries complaint that I discussed earlier this month. Reasonable people should not, as a matter of law, be allowed to claim surprise at the presence of an ingredient that is clearly disclosed on the Nutrition Facts label.
Although the court in Ackerman gave lip service to the pleading requirements of Twombly and Iqbal, it ultimately held that conclusory allegations met the pleading standard. Indeed, it credited the following as adequately pleading the fact of reliance:
Each plaintiff relied on Defendants' . . . misrepresentations that VitaminWater is a beneficial dietary supplement beverage including, but not limited to, "vitamins + water = all you need" and the name of the product itself -- "VitaminWater" -- in deciding to purchase vitaminwater. Had Plaintiffs known the truth that the statements they relied on were false, misleading, deceptive, and unfair, they would have neither purchased VitaminWater nor paid the premium price Defendants charged for it.
Slip op. at 40.
The court refused to dismiss causes of action under California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, as well as under New York's General Business Law sections 349 and 350. It also refused to dismiss plaintiffs' common law misrepresentation claims for NY and CA plaintiffs and the unjust enrichment claims for all plaintiffs.
Notably, the court was forced to conclude that plaintiffs' claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act failed to state a claim because they failed to plead enough specifics as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b).
The court also held that plaintiffs failed to plead a claim for breach of express warranty because they failed to set forth any statement made about the product that the product failed to meet. In addition, the court dismissed the implied warranty claims because -- even crediting the complaint as true -- "plaintiffs cannot establish that vitaminwater failed to constitute a merchantable product." This, of course, begs the question: if, as a matter of law, everything the defendant said was true (such that it did not constitute a breached warranty), and the sugar content was listed on the product itself and did not make the product unmerchantable, how could the packaging and marketing be "fraudulent"?
The first half of the court's opinion is comprised of a recitation of the regulatory history regarding adding nutrients to foods and beverages. Ultimately, the court rejected the defendants' arguments that the lawsuit was expressly and/or impliedly preempted by statutes and regulations preventing states from imposing labeling requirements that are different from those imposed by the FDA. See, e.g., Slip op. at 27. The court concluded that although plaintiffs' claims were premised on violations of the federal statutes and regulations, they were not preempted because they sought to impose "identical" requirements under state law as those imposed by the federal scheme. The court also rejected the defendants' primary jurisdiction argument, stating that the question of what could mislead a reasonable consumer is one courts typically handle, and reasoning that the "FDA is aware of plaintiffs' concerns but lacks the resources to take enforcement action in every instance in which its policies are violated." Slip op. at 30.
But plaintiffs legal assault on the fortified beverage industry ignores one important fact: the public wants nutritionally-enhanced foods and beverages. Indeed, fortified beverages are one of the fastest-growing market segments. Consumers are capable of reading nutrition labels and ingredients and making dietary choices for themselves, and they do not need the FDA or self-appointed nutrition nannies like CSPI to limit the products from which they can legitimately choose. Although the FDA has articulated policies about adding nutrients to foods and beverages, it has not acted to eliminate the category of nutritionally-enhanced products from the market. One benefit of limited regulatory resources is prioritization, and instances of actual fraud should take (and generally have taken) enforcement priority.
The Ackerman court's opinion on express and implied warranties makes it clear that there is no real fraud or misrepresentation in the marketing or packaging of vitaminwater. The label clearly discloses the product's sugar content. As such, CSPI should move on to lawsuits that fight actual fraud, rather than trying to co-opt the courts into doing what the FDA to date has refused to do.
To read CSPI Litigation Project Director Steve Gardner's take on the decision, click here.
Coca Cola essentially said, "You should be responsible for knowing that our marketing are lies, our advertisements are lies and our labels are lies. You should use your intuition instead of believing our lies about our own products. It's your fault for believing us."
And you say the plaintiffs are nannies?? Hell no, Coca Cola is crooked!