Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
Costco has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in California federal court alleging the warehouse retail giant mislabeled its coconut oil as being healthier than other oil and butter products.
Plaintiffs James Boswell and Malia Lavin filed the lawsuit accusing Costco Wholesale Corporation of breaching express and implied warranties and violating California business and civil codes. The plaintiffs allege that Costco’s brand of Kirkland Signature Organic Coconut Oil is advertised as being healthy, but the plaintiffs state this wasn’t the case and were damaged as a result of their purchase.
“Costco misleadingly labels and markets its Kirkland Coconut Oil as both inherently healthy, and a healthy alternative to butter and other oils, despite that it is actually inherently unhealthy, and a less healthy alternative.”
The plaintiffs claim that consuming the saturated fat found in the Costco coconut oil increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and other illnesses such as stroke. They also say that Costco knows consumers will pay a premium for items that are considered healthy and has targeted its marketing campaign around this fact. The class action lawsuit cited a Nielsen’s 2015 Global Health & Wellness Survey which found that 88 percent of survey respondents were willing to pay more for healthier foods.
“Costco is well aware of this and therefore employs a marketing strategy intended to convince consumers that the Kirkland Coconut Oil is ‘healthy,’ despite that it is almost entirely composed of saturated fat,” the lawsuit states.
Both plaintiffs claim that they would have been willing to pay less, or perhaps would be unwilling to purchase the coconut oil at all had Costco not allegedly misrepresented the health benefits of the product.
“For these reasons, Costco’s Kirkland Coconut Oil was worth less than what Plaintiffs paid for it, and may have been worth nothing given its high total fat and saturated fat content, subjecting plaintiffs to increased risk of CHD, stroke, and other morbidity,” the complaint read. “Instead of receiving a product that had actual healthful qualities, Plaintiffs and the Class received a coconut oil which is not healthy, but rather its consumption causes increased risk of CHD, stroke, and other morbidity.”
In terms of relief, the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to stop Costco from marketing the coconut oil “using the misleading tactics complained of,” launch a corrective advertising campaign, destroy any materials that are misleading and deceptive, restore amounts to consumers from its unjust enrichment, as well as pay restitution, damages and punitive damages as the law allows.
The Costco class action lawsuit was initially filed in California Superior Court but Costco filed to transfer the case to federal court because the proposed Class size would exceed more than one hundred members, at least one proposed Class Member would be a resident of a state other than California, and the total amount in controversy is in excess of $5 million dollars.
The plaintiffs are represented by Paul K. Joseph of the Law Office of Paul K. Joseph and Jack Fitzgerald, Trevor M. Flynn and Melanie Persinger of The Law Office of Jack Fitzgerald.
The Costco Coconut Oil Class Action Lawsuit is Boswell, et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp, Case No. 3:16-cv-00278-DOC-DFM in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: On June 6, 2016, a federal judge ruled that Costco will have to face a class action lawsuit that alleges its coconut oil labels are misleading to suggest that the product is “healthful and delicious,” when it is not actually healthier than other cooking oils.
UPDATE 2: On May 1, 2017, Costco proposed to pay a $775,000 settlement to resolve claims in a class action lawsuit alleging the grocery wholesaler misled customers by advertising its Kirkland coconut oil as healthy.
UPDATE 3: September 2017, the Costco coconut oil class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
11 thoughts onCostco Class Action Filed Over Coconut Oil Mislabeling
This is counterproductive, ridiculous, and a waste of time and energy. We will still buy Kirkland coconut oil from Costco. And it looks like I’m forced to print something and “opt out”. Total joke.
Thank you Costco for selling this wonderful coconut oil product. I use the coconut oil to cook with, add to hair conditioning products and skin lotions. To bad so many people are clueless and look for a quick health fix and then turn around to blame someone else besides themselves. I opt out of this lawsuit and would not be surprised if it is simply big corporate business behind this.
I’m choosing to not file. This is a frivolous law suit that Costco should’ve taken to court. If you know that coconut oil is good for you, in small quantities, keep using it and don’t claim your tiny amount of money to be refunded. It really irks me to think how much money the lawyers will all be making on this. I bet a few of them know that coconut oil is a good option and use it themselves. As for the couple that is saying there were “put at risk” and “paid more”, they should be ashamed of themselves. We should have the option to collect it for ourselves or give it back to Costco.
Federal judge is full of it. I will continue to but coconut oil from Costco. My numbers have never been better. Montsano and other corporations must be taking some big hits in the pocketbook to come up with this. You can keep your canola oil and margarine!
I was shocked to receive this notice in the mail yesterday. Apparently the big food industry is seeing a hit in its profits, because people are turning to truly healthy oils like coconut oil (countless, legitimate, scientific research studies exist to back this up) in large numbers. People are turning their backs on truly unhealthy industrial oils promoted by big food (and again, numerous truly scientific studies to back this up), so big food went to the land of the flakes in CA and found a couple of useful idiots to file this completely ridiculous lawsuit that is completely based on falsehoods and junk science and “studies” that were done by the food industry (nothing like letting the fox guard the hen house). How ironic that these big food companies are able to label their “food-like substances” that were created in a lab and were never alive with all kinds of ridiculous false claims and are able to do so with impunity, while truly healthy foods like coconut oil are vilified. I truly hope that anyone with more than 2 brain cells to rub together (likely coconut oil consumers, since coconut oil is great brain food!) will not only NOT follow up with these mailings, but will protest this ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit and come out in droves in support of Costco. It truly is a shame that Costco is choosing to settle this instead of fighting it and setting the correct precedent regarding issues like this. Use critical thinking and do your own research to find the truth instead of listening to propaganda and falling for false claims such as this one.
How do we file a claim? I received a postcard telling me to go to this website to file a claim.
Are you kidding me? If you google coconut oil, you will discover the many healthful benefits of coconut oil. The saturated fat from plants like coconuts is not the same as the saturated fat from meat and dairy products. And there is a difference between “healthful” and “healthier” anyway. If you are depending on Costco to make your nutritional choices clear, you will probably be disappointed. Take some responsibility and do the research for yourself. If you want to eat fat, figure out which one is the best. If you don’t want to eat fat, don’t let Costco dissuade you otherwise. How dumb can people get?
UPDATE 2: On May 1, 2017, Costco proposed to pay a $775,000 settlement to resolve claims in a class action lawsuit alleging the grocery wholesaler misled customers by advertising its Kirkland coconut oil as healthy.
I bought this cause I thought it was healthy
UPDATE: On June 6, 2016, a federal judge ruled that Costco will have to face a class action lawsuit that alleges its coconut oil labels are misleading to suggest that the product is “healthful and delicious,” when it is not actually healthier than other cooking oils.
I would like to be part of this I still have both jars of the ones I bought from there.