Judge Trims Claims In Barilla Pasta Sauce Class Action

An Illinois federal judge trimmed claims in a class action lawsuit asserting that the “no preservatives” label on Barilla pasta sauces is misleading.

U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo determined that the proposed class action lawsuit could not include a nationwide Class of injured Barilla customers because there is too much variation in fraud and consumer protection laws across different states.

The judge elaborated on this decision, disagreeing with the customer’s assertion that differences in state consumer protection and fraud laws could be handled by creating subclasses of consumers in various states within the nationwide Class.

Judge Bucklo said, “given not only the number of jurisdictions at issue but also the multitude of dimension on which state consumer protection laws differ substantively and procedurally, it is difficult to imagine a reasonable number of subclasses could be used to make the class action [the customer] proposes manageable.”

Barilla’s earlier move to have the claims dismissed proved partly successful, per Judge Bucklo’s ruling, though the pasta company will still have to face some of the claims.

The Barilla class action lawsuit was filed in October 2018 by Lukas Kubilius who says that Barilla falsely advertises its pasta sauces as free from preservatives when the products really contain citric acid, which he says is a well-known preservative.

The Barilla class action lawsuit claims that Barilla knows consumers prefer and seek out products they believe are preservative free, and uses this preference to entice customers into purchasing their products.

Additionally, the false advertising class action lawsuit asserts that Barilla charges a premium for sauces that are advertised as preservative free.

Kubilius argues that he and many other consumers were financially injured because had they known that the pasta sauces contained preservatives, they might not have bought the sauces at all or would not have paid as much for them.

According to Kubilius, Barilla “delivered a product with significantly less value than was warranted by its representations, thereby depriving him of the benefit of his bargain and injuring him in an amount up to the purchase price.”

The Barilla class action lawsuit asserts that Barilla knew or should have known that its advertising is misleading because the company is aware of the ingredients in its pasta sauces and is aware of industry standards on preservatives.

Judge Bucklo did not entirely dismiss Kubilius’ claims against Barilla, saying that he could proceed with his argument that the company had violated New York fraud law.

The plaintiff claims that the company violated New York fraud law and committed common law fraud, a claim which the judge also permitted him to pursue.

Kubilius is represented by C.K. Lee of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Barilla Pasta Sauce Class Action Lawsuit is Lukas Kubilius v. Barilla America Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-06656, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

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