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A federal judge has certified two class action lawsuits filed by consumers who accuse Kashi Co. and its subsidiary Bear Naked Inc. of falsely advertising its products as “natural” even though they contained artificial ingredients.
In the first of two separate rulings issued on July 30, U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff allowed California consumers who purchased Bear Naked products on or after September 21, 2007 that contained hexane-processed soy but bore the “natural” label to proceed in class action lawsuits against the companies. In her ruling, she noted that Kashi and Bear Naked had conceded that their products contained synthetic ingredients.
Judge Huff also certified a class of California consumers who had purchased Kashi products that had a label indicating that they contained “Nothing Artificial” on or after August 24, 2007.
“Unlike the phrase ‘All Natural,’ the representation ‘Nothing Artificial’ has a clearly ascertainable meaning, namely, that the product contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients,” Judge Huff said. She found that the plaintiffs had sufficiently shown that the challenged ingredients might be considered artificial and that they had relied on the “Nothing Artificial” claim when choosing to purchase the Kashi products.
While Judge Huff approved the two California classes in the Bear Naked and Kashi class action lawsuits, she denied certification of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased Bear Naked products that contained the challenged ingredients because the plaintiffs failed to “sufficiently show that ‘natural’ has any kind of uniform definition among Class Members, that a sufficient portion of Class Members would have relied to their detriment on the representation” or that Bear Naked’s “representation of natural in light of the presence of the challenged ingredients would be considered to be a material falsehood by Class Members.”
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits accuse Kashi and Bear Naked of using a “spectacular array” of artificially processed and synthetic ingredients in products the company marketed as “natural.” As a result, Kashi was able to sell its products at a premium and earn substantial profits.
Bear Naked makes and sells granola bars, cereals, trail mix and cookies. According to the class action lawsuit, the company allegedly labeled its products as natural even though they contained synthetic ingredients such as potassium carbonate, glycerin and lecithin.
Kashi has become well-known as a nutritional, environmentally conscious brand. The company was acquired by Kellogg Co. in 2000. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits accuse Kashi and Bear Naked of tricking customers into believing that its products lack artificial ingredients. They believe that the company has misrepresented its products in order to inflate the prices, knowing that health-conscious consumers will pay a premium for natural products.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuits are represented by Faruqi & Faruqi LLP, Stember Feinstein Doyle Payne & Kravec LLC, Finkelstein Thompson LLP, Braun Law Group PC and Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP.
The Kashi/Bear Naked Class Action Lawsuits are Skye Astiana et al. v. Kashi Co., Case No. 3:11-cv-01967, and Chanee Thurston et al. v. Bear Naked Inc., Case No. 3:11-cv-02890, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
UPDATE 1: Bear Naked reached a class action settlement agreement on May 2, 2014. Details on how to file a claim were not immediately available.More information can be found at the Settlement Website: www.BearNakedFalseAdvertisingClassAction.com.
UPDATE 2: For more information about the Bear Naked class action settlement, click here to view the Open Settlement page. Keep checking www.TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for updates on the Kashi class action settlement.
UPDATE 3: California residents who purchased certain Kashi products that were allegedly falsely advertised as natural may also be eligible for benefits from a class action settlement. For more information, visit the combined Kashi/Bear Naked settlement website at www.NaturalClassSettlement.com.
UPDATE 4: Checks for the Kashi and Bear Naked class action settlements have been mailed! On Jan. 2, 2015, Top Class Actions viewers began reporting they had received checks worth as much as $328.22 from the settlements. Congratulations to everyone who submitted claims and got paid!
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13 thoughts onJudge Certifies Kashi, Bear Naked Class Action Lawsuits
UPDATE 4: Checks for the Kashi and Bear Naked class action settlements have been mailed! On Jan. 2, 2015, Top Class Actions viewers began reporting they had received checks worth as much as $328.22 from the settlements. Congratulations to everyone who submitted claims and got paid!
$ 328.22. I’m so happy California cares about its people and fights to keep companies honest.
YAY!!! I GOT $328.22 TODAY. IT’S A BLESSING. THANK YOU GOD AND T.C.A.