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Update:
- Plaintiffs who brought a class action lawsuit alleging Mars Petcare US Inc. falsely advertises pet food as not containing chicken or grain have agreed to drop the case.
- On Aug. 24, the plaintiffs and defendants filed a joint stipulation to permanently dismiss the case in an Illinois federal court after previously telling the court they had reached a settlement.
- Details of the settlement were not immediately available in court documents.
- In the original complaint, filed in November 2020, pet owners alleged Mars Petcare advertised a premium dog food — Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet — especially for dogs with allergies.
- The bag labels allegedly advertised the product as containing “No Chicken” and being “Grain Free.” However, the lawsuit claimed, researchers found more than trace amounts of chicken, soy and wheat in the products.
(July 19, 2022)
Complaints may proceed that Mars Petcare US Inc. makes pet food falsely advertised as not containing certain ingredients, an Illinois federal judge has ruled.
On July 12, U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah said parts of the Mars Petcare class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act could go ahead.
However, in the same motion, the judge removed three of the six plaintiffs from the complaint because the dog owners had bought Mars Petcare products outside of Illinois.
In the original complaint, filed in November 2020, pet owners alleged Mars Petcare advertised a premium dog food — Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet — especially for dogs with allergies.
The bag labels advertised the product contained “No Chicken” and was “Grain Free.” However researchers allegedly found more than trace amounts of chicken, soy and wheat in the products, the plaintiffs said.
They said Mars Petcare charged a premium for these products, which consumers could have bought with another brand for a lesser amount.
Mars Petcare moved to get the case dismissed, arguing that allegations its products contained a “material amount” of wheat soy or chicken were a “legal conclusion” unsupported by specific evidence about whether the dog food in question harmed the dogs.
But Judge Shah said Mars Petcare was mistaken.
“The ‘materiality’ of the amounts of wheat, soy, and chicken is not a legal conclusion, but a factual statement about quantity that plausibly suggests that Mars’s statements about the ingredients were false,” the judge ruled.
“The problem alleged isn’t harmful amounts of ingredients, but the presence of ingredients that Mars said it did not include at all.”
This is not the first time Mars Petcare has faced a class action lawsuit over its kibble.
In 2017, Mars Petcare, PetSmart, Nestle Purina and other pet food brands faced a class action alleging they worked together to fix the price of prescription pet food.
Lead plaintiffs claimed in their class action complaint that various pet food manufacturers conspired with supply chains, like PetSmart and Banfield Pet Hospital to drive up the price of prescription food.
What do you think about the allegations against Mars? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by John H. Bryson of Whitfield Bryson LLP, Gregory Coleman of Coleman Law PC and Nick Suciu III of Barbat Mansour Suciu & Tomina PLLC.
Mars is represented by Francis A. Citera, Brett M. Doran and Brian D. Straw of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
The Mars Petcare grain-free kibble false advertising class action lawsuit is Bakapolous v. Mars Petcare US Inc., Case No. 1:20-cv-06841, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
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26 thoughts onPlaintiffs drop dog food false advertising lawsuit against Mars Petcare
I know when these companies lie about what they have in their food. My dog is alert to that chickand he gets air infections and he gets a rash all over his skin and starts licking his paws. So I can tell if they’re lying about the ingredients. They all lie. There’s always some kind of crude chicken fat, chicken by product or chicken meal, etc something in there of chicken.
I know when these companies lie about what they have in their food. My dog is alert to that chickand he gets air infections and he gets a rash all over his skin and starts licking his paws. So I can tell if they’re lying about the ingredients. They all lie. There’s always some kind of crude chicken fat, chicken by product or something in there of chicken.
Mars goes to Great lengths to insulate themselves from lawsuits. Banfeild is a cancer protected by the devil.
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