Santa Cruz Organic Beverage Class Action Lawsuit Gets Second Chance

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A California federal judge has reversed her dismissal of a class action lawsuit accusing Santa Cruz Natural Inc. of mislabeling its soda and juice beverages, ruling instead to stay the litigation until the Food and Drug Administration decides whether or not evaporated cane juice is an acceptable substitute for sugar on ingredient lists.

The Santa Cruz organic beverage class action lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice by U.S. District Judge Illston in April 2014 after finding the claims were preempted by the FDA. Plaintiffs alleged that the beverages were mislabeled as containing “evaporated cane juice” instead of “cane sugar” or “sugar” in order to mislead consumers about the sugar content of the products.

On July 1, Judge Illston revived the Santa Cruz organic beverage class action lawsuit after agreeing with plaintiffs that the statute of limitations on some of their claims will likely expire before the FDA is able to take on a stance on the ingredient.

Illston’s ruling exemplifies the growing confusion among Courts governed by the precedent of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Some have decided that private citizens can take advantage of California’s strong consumer protection laws to take action against food makers whose labeling violates federal. Illston and others argue that the FDA has preemption as a regulatory body.

However, the reprieve both helps the plaintiffs and keeps with Illston’s legal theories. The FDA has opened up comments on whether or not evaporated cane juice should be added to the list of accepted ingredients. Numerous food mislabeling class action lawsuits have cited the fact that it is not.

In the original complaint, two Californians argued that Santa Cruz organic beverage products used the ingredient name which is not consistent with federal law and thus was susceptible to state laws allowing for consumers to seek damages. Judge Illston, however, decided that “it would be inappropriate for this court to assume the FDA’s regulatory role.”

What will be critical is sussing out the differences in state and federal law. While the Santa Cruz beverage class action lawsuit and other cases wait on the FDA, the overall question of the rights of citizens who cite laws deeming food with inaccurate labels as “valueless” will remain problematic until a higher court rules on the issue.

The plaintiffs are represented by Ben F. Pierce Gore of Pratt & Associates and David McMullan Jr. of Barrett Law Group PA.

The Santa Cruz Organic Beverage Class Action Lawsuit is Mary Swearingen, et al. v. Santa Cruz Natural Inc., Case No. 13-cv-04291, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.