General Mills Dodges Trans Fat Class Action Lawsuit

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A California federal judge has thrown out a class action lawsuit alleging that General Mills baking mixes are unsafe because they contain trans fats.

Last month, U.S. District Judge William Orrick decided that the General Mills class action lawsuit was preempted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Judge Orrick rejected claims that the act only applies to federal regulations and an argument saying that General Mills had violated California consumer law.

The General Mills trans fats class action lawsuit was filed by Troy Backus in 2015. He filed two separate trans fats class action lawsuits against General Mills and Nestle, claiming that both companies had violated the California Unfair Competition Law.

He also claimed that General Mills should be held liable for nuisance and breach of implied warranty of merchantability.

According to the General Mills class action, the food manufacturer should not have sold products that included trans fats because they are no longer generally considered safe for human consumption.

The plaintiff says General Mills knew or should have known that trans fats are not safe for human consumption, but continued to sell products that contain them nonetheless.

The General Mills class action lawsuit notes that the FDA now requires businesses to discontinue their use of partially hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats, and has given manufacturers until June 2018 to phase out the oils.

In fact, it was this claim that convinced Judge Orrick to dismiss Backus’ claims.

Earlier in 2018, General Mills had requested that the baking mix trans fats class action lawsuit be dismissed, stating that Backus’ claims were preempted by federal law because businesses were given a three year grace period between when businesses were required to phase out trans fats in 2015 and when they were required to have finished phasing them out, in 2018.

Judge Orrick agreed with General Mills, and determined that Backus was incorrect in arguing that laws about trans fats only preempted federal regulations.

The judge said that “his reading of the statute is illogical, inconsistent with how he has brought his claims, and has been rejected by a number of courts.”

Judge Orrick and General Mills both argued that the Consolidated Appropriations Act that would require businesses to phase out trans fats by 2018 determined that businesses can consider trans fats safe until 2018.

According to the judge and General Mills, this nixed Backus’ argument that Section 754 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act that would require a phasing out of trans fats preempted FDA regulations and not state laws.

Judge Orrick stated “that Section 754 does not explicitly mention states or state law does not make it per se plausible that it does not preempt California law. In fact, there is no plausible reading of Section 754, in which Congress set a compliance date fro the legality of PHSs based on its best judgment for customers and businesses, that allows for imposing liability on the use of PHOs before the compliance date.”

Backus is represented by Gregory S. Weston and Andrew C. Hamilton of the Weston Firm as of the end of April.

The General Mills Trans Fats Baking Mix Class Action Lawsuit is Troy Backus v. General Mills Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-01964, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.