Ashley Milano  |  May 27, 2016

Category: Consumer News

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.

Safeway-Olive-OilSafeway can’t escape a class action lawsuit over its alleged false labeling of its store-brand olive oil products as a California state judge grants class certification to purchasers of the products.

Judge Winifred Y. Smith moved forward two Classes of consumers who claim that Safeway Inc. violated the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and numerous California false advertising laws.

Lead plaintiff Rohini Kumar, who is representing both Classes, asserts that Safeway’s Select Brand of olive oil is not “Imported from Italy” despite the products’ labeling.

Tossing the grocery chain’s arguments that the plaintiff did not have any standing to bring the claims since she couldn’t remember if she exactly purchased a olive oil product that was labeled “Imported from Italy” and that she was not qualified to determine the olive oil’s quality, Judge Smith ruled Kumar did not indicate she was harmed by the alleged misrepresentation.

Judge Smith further dismissed Safeway’s arguments that Kumar failed to provide evidence that there’s common understanding among consumers of what extra virgin olive oil is and if they indeed rely on claims such as “Imported from Italy” in making purchasing decisions.

Kumar filed the class action lawsuit in 2014 in California federal court, alleging several false marketing claims. One of the claims is that the olives used to make the oil were not from Italy, but from “different countries” or “imported from various countries.” A second allegation is that the oils were not extra virgin olive oil – a more expensive and healthier olive oil.

Additionally, Kumar filed another similar lawsuit against Salov North America, the maker of Filippo Berio olive oil, the third largest brand of olive oil claiming its “Imported from Italy” labels are also misleading.

In her lawsuits, Kumar claims the olive oil – she purchased both products at her local Safeway – was not “Imported from Italy” as the product labels indicate. The lawsuits claim that this is false and violates federal regualtions concerning the country of origin and misbranding of food products. The lawsuit states that a smaller label on the back of the bottles purchased by Kumar said that the olives were “packed” or “processed” in Italy with olives from other countries.

According to the complaints, these companies falsely claimed their products were “extra virgin olive oil.” Kumar’s attorneys say the label of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on the bottles was wrong and that what Kumar bought was a lower grade olive oil.

In opposition to Kumar’s request for Class certification, Salov acknowledged that Filippo Berio olive oil is not made in Italy, but argued that there was “nothing false or misleading” about labeling their bottle “Imported from Italy.” The company states that the bottle was brought from Italy, and the back label of the bottle reads, “Packaged in Italy with select extra virgin olive oils from Italy, Spain, Greece & Tunisia.”

“While Salov argues that the dictionary definition of ‘imported from’ supports it, there will still need to be a classwide decision of whether the phrase is likely to mislead reasonable consumers,” Kumar said in support of her class certification motion.

Kumar filed the Safeway olive oil action on behalf of all California residents who, between May 23, 2010 and the present, purchased in California, any Safeway Select brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil products, and an Imported Class of California residents who purchased in California the following Safeway Select brand products: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Extra Light in Flavor Olive Oil, and Pure Olive Oil between Jan. 1, 2012 and the present.

The plaintiff is represented by Tycko & Zavareei LLP and Gutrie Safier LLP.

The Safeway Olive Oil Class Action Lawsuit is Kumar v. Safeway Inc., Case No. RG14726707, in the Alameda County Superior Court.

Update: December 2017, the Safeway Select Olive Oil “Imported from Italy” Class Action Settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 2: On Aug. 24, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Safeway olive oil class action settlement worth as much as $2.50. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.