Consumers who are participating in the $5.4 million Ocean Spray class action settlement over the labeling of its fruit juice drinks have begun receiving their cash awards.
The settlement was designed to pay eligible Class Members $1 for every bottle of Ocean Spray they bought that was labeled as containing no artificial flavors, to a maximum of 20 bottles, depending on the number of consumers who filed claims.
Now that the deadline to file a claim has passed, the Ocean Spray class action settlement administrators have started the payout process and participating Class Members are getting $17.40 each.
The payments are being distributed through the electronic transaction service PayPal.
Lead Plaintiff Crystal Hilsley filed the federal class action lawsuit against Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in November 2017, claiming the company had violated California and federal consumer protection laws.
At issue, Hilsley said, was the company’s practice of labeling its fruit juice beverages as containing no artificial flavors when they actually do contain chemical compounds that mimic certain fruit flavors — namely, DL-malic acid.
“The ‘malic acid’ that Ocean Spray puts in its product is not a natural flavoring material; it is a synthetic chemical manufactured in a petrochemical factory from petroleum feedstocks,” the class action lawsuit says.
Hilsely’s complaint dealt mostly with Ocean Spray’s CranApple and CranGrape drinks.
The presence of DL-malic acid in Ocean Spray’s juice beverages is at odds with their labeling, which would lead a reasonable consumer to believe the drinks are all-natural, Hilsley argued.
Under California and federal laws, Ocean Spray is required to properly identify the DL-malic acid in the ingredients list of each bottle that contains the compound, and cannot simply list it as malic acid — which it does, the class action lawsuit said.
Malic acid is a natural, organic compound. DL-malic acid is a synthesized compound.
After nearly two years of litigation, Hilsely and Ocean Spray announced in November 2019 they had reached a settlement. Hilsley’s lawyers submitted the proposed agreement to U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel, saying they thought the terms were fair.
“If approved, the settlement will bring an end to what has been, and likely would continue to be, highly contentious and costly litigation centered upon unsettled legal questions,” the plaintiffs’ filing said.
The deal would offer monetary payments to all eligible Class Members who purchased one of 78 varieties of Ocean Spray fruit juice beverages labeled as containing “no artificial flavors” between Jan. 1, 2011, and Jan. 31, 2020. Among the drinks included in the settlement are some of Ocean Spray’s most popular: CranApple, CranGrape, 100% Apple Juice Drink, CranRaspberry and several diet and lite versions of its drinks.
It also called for Ocean Spray to make changes to its advertising and to stop labeling bottles of juice with the words “no artificial flavors” if they do, in fact, contain artificial flavorings.
Judge Curiel later approved the Ocean Spray class action settlement, and the two sides set about finalizing the agreement and setting an administrator up to process Class Member claims.
Ocean Spray admits no wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement.
Have you purchased one of Ocean Spray’s fruit juice drinks labeled to contain no artificial flavors? Tell us about it, and what you think of the Ocean Spray class action settlement, in the comment section below.
Hilsley and the Class Members are represented by Ronald A. Marron, Lilach Halperin and Michael T. Houchin of the Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron; and by David Elliot.
The Ocean Spray Class Action Lawsuit is Crystal Hilsley, et al. v. Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., et al., Case No. 3:17-cv-02335, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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237 thoughts onOcean Spray Class Action Settlement Payments On Their Way Via PayPal
I filed a claim but not yet paid. Can I modify my PayPal email. It’s changed since I filed
I filed for the class action involving ocean spray but have not received payment. Who do I contact to ask why?
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I never even knew About this. I wouldn’t know about anything if it weren’t for you guys. What do i do when I missed deadlines though. moved from apple to android so I lost a lot Because I couldn’t pay for apple cloud without a apple device. I would like to sue apple for that.
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