Posted June 13, 2014
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of POM Wonderful in their advertising dispute with Coca-Cola Co., according to an Associated Press article on ABC News by Sam Hananel available here. Reuters also published an article available hereand CNN here. A previous blog post on the dispute is available here.
This verdict could set the precedent for future litigation against food makers for misleading labeling. The justices ruled 8-0 allowing POM to continue with a lawsuit claiming the label on a “Pomegranate blueberry” beverage offered by Coke’s Minute Maid is deceptive, because 99 percent of the drink is apple and grape juice.
POM, which makes a 100 percent pomegranate drink, said the label would hurt sales for its own product. POM also viewed the ruling as a victory for consumers, according to Reuters.
“We believe that when people better understand what they are consuming, they can make healthy and more informed decisions about what they buy,” the company said in a statement.
The Supreme Court reversed a U.S. District Court in California and a federal appeals court finding that said POM could not bring its claims under the federal Lanham Act.
“We intend to defend against POM’s claims that our labeling is misleading and the evidence at trial will show that our product was not the cause of POM’s poor sales,” Coca-Cola said in a statement.
Lower courts had ruled against Pom, but the justices determined that while the federal government can pursue misleading labels, private parties can also challenge “practices that allegedly mislead and trick consumers,” according to CNN.
POM has also faced allegations of misleading advertising, and was sued by the Federal Trade Commission in 2010 for making “false and unsubstantiated” health claims. POM was asked to remove the claims for its ads.
The case is POM Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company, No. 12-761. Justice Stephen Breyer did not participate in deciding this appeal.
For more information on food labeling, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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