Hershey Customers Want Brookside Chocolate Class Action Certified

The chocolate lovers who filed a Hershey’s class action lawsuit are seeking certification for two Classes of customers who claim Brookside Dark Chocolates are falsely advertised as having no artificial flavors. 

The Hershey customers are seeking Class certification of customers who purchased Brookside chocolates in California and New York.

The Hershey’s mislabeling class action lawsuit was filed by Howard Clark, Todd Hall, and Angela Pirrone. The three candy buyers claim that Hershey falsely advertises its Brookside Dark Chocolates as containing no artificial flavors even though it contains malic acid, a synthetic substance.

The Hershey Brookside class action lawsuit says that malic acid is a synthetic ingredient that is used to give products a tangy, fruit-like flavor. Allegedly, synthetic malic acid is produced from petrochemicals.

The inclusion of this artificial flavoring while the label advertises that there are no artificial flavorings violates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulations, as well as California consumer protection laws.

The customers claim that they and many others were financially injured by the misrepresentation because they based their purchasing decisions, at least in part, on the labeling of the dark chocolate as containing no artificial flavorings.

Additionally, the customers say that had they known that the products contained an artificial flavoring, they would not have purchased the chocolates or would not have paid as much as they did for it.

The Hershey class action lawsuit says that the candy giant intentionally misled customers about the nature of the product, because Hershey knows that customers are willing to pay a premium for all natural products, because they are perceived as healthier and of higher quality. Allegedly, the company knowingly took advantage of this customer preference in the interest of their own profit.

To support their claim that Hershey was aware that their products are not free of artificial flavorings, but labeled it as such nonetheless, Clark, Hall, and Pirrone point to internal documents from The Hershey Co. that allegedly note that malic acid is “not considered to be a ‘natural’ product.”

In seeking Class certification for their artificial flavoring class action lawsuit, Clark, Hall, and Pirrone say that their proposed Classes of customers should be approved because they were similarly affected by Hershey’s mislabeling of their Brookside brand.

The customers go on to claim that they are fit to represent the wider Class because they and many other customers relied on the product’s advertising as containing no artificial flavorings to make their purchasing decisions.

In their request for Class certification, the customers did ask the court to certify a liability-only Class if their proposed Classes were rejected.

The Hershey customers are represented by Ronald A. Marron, Michael T. Houchin, and Lilach Halperin of the Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron.

The Hershey Brookside Dark Chocolate Class Action Lawsuit is Clark, et al. v. The Hershey Co., Case No. 3:18-cv-06113, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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