Hot Tamales Class Action Says Boxes Only Half Full

A recent class action lawsuit claims that Hot Tamales candy boxes are deceptively packaged to hide the fact that they are only half full.

Plaintiffs Kaelin Francisco, Eliza Reid and Kenneth Witham say consumers rely on the size of the box to determine how much product is contained within.

The plaintiffs argue that Hot Tamales manufacturer Just Born Inc. intentionally underfills their candy boxes to deceive consumers.

“The size of the box in and of itself is a representation by Defendant as to the amount of candy contained in the box,” the plaintiffs argue in their Hot Tamales class action lawsuit. “Plaintiffs and other consumers of the Product detrimentally and reasonably relied on this representation of quantity when they purchased the Product.”

The Hot Tamales class action claims that the opaque nature of the candy boxes intentionally disguises the fact that only 45 percent of the box is filled with candy. The remaining 55 percent is reportedly empty space which serves as nonfunctional “slack-fill.”

The plaintiffs say that only after purchasing Hot Tamales candy boxes and opening them are consumers able to see the disappointing reality of the underfilled packaging.

“Only upon opening their respective candy boxes did Plaintiffs discover to their shock and disappointment that the Product’s boxes were less than half-full, while over half of the boxes constituted slack fill, virtually all of which was nonfunctional,” the Hot Tamales class action claims.

Slack-fill is the amount of space in a container that is not filled up with the volume of the product. In some cases, such as with chip packaging, slack-fill serves a purpose by protecting the products within the manufacturing and transportation process. In the case of Hot Tamales, the slack-fill is allegedly nonfunctional.

The plaintiffs argue even further than the unnecessary, nonfunctional slack-fill in Hot Tamales packaging increases the chance that the contents will “break and sustain damage” during the shipping and handling process.

If the box was appropriately sized or filled, the candy product would allegedly have less room to bounce around – meaning that the contents would be less likely to sustain damage.

Plaintiffs in the Hot Tamales class action seeks to represent a Class of consumers who purchased Hot Tamales candies after Feb. 3, 2013. They also seek to represent a subclass of the same consumers from California.

The Hot Tamales class action lawsuit seeks restitution, punitive damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Ryan J. Clarkson, Shireen M. Clarkson, Matthew T. Theriault, and Bahar Sodaify of Clarkson Law Firm PC.

The Hot Tamales Class Action Lawsuit is Francisco, et al. v. Just Born Inc., et al., Case No. 2:19-cv-05543, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Sandals Class Action Says Resorts Keep Local Taxes

Zostavax Lawsuit: Vaccine Caused Serious Side Effects

Dove Class Action Says Ice Cream Bars Don’t Contain Real Vanilla

What Causes Black Lung Disease?