Olive Oil Buyers Granted Class Cert. in False Labeling Class Action

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Consumers in a lawsuit against Filippo Berio olive oil have been granted class certification from a California federal judge following the judge’s rejection of the olive oil company’s argument that the lead plaintiff was not an adequate Class representative.

The Class of California consumers certified by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will include individuals who purchased any grade of Filippo Berio olive oil (except for the organic variety) between May 2010 and June 2015.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers rejected the arguments presented by Salov North America Corp., makers of the olive oil, that claimed lead plaintiff Rohini Kumar was not an adequate representative of the Class because the testimony she delivered indicated that she was not misled by the labeling on the front of the bottle indicating “Imported from Italy.”

Salov claimed that Kumar’s testimony specified that she read the back of the olive oil bottle to check the “best by” date of the product, and near the date, a disclaimer stated that the olive oil come from various countries. Salov said that the plaintiff must have known the information contained in the disclaimer.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers said that Kumar testimony indicated that she had not read the disclaimer on the bottle.

“The court cannot disregard this testimony, as Salov seems to suggest,” the judge stated.

Salov also declared that Kumar was an inadequate Class representative because she had a prior conviction for drunk driving and because she had a personal friendship with one of the attorneys representing her.

Judge Gonzalez Rogers stated that Kumar’s drunk driving record is not relevant to the issues raised in the case and also noted that Kumar’s attorney friend is one of several attorneys from multiple law firms that is representing her in the case, making Salov’s arguments irrelevant.

Salov had previously argued that the Class of consumers could not be ascertained because potential members would not be able to prove that they had purchased the olive oil, remember the price they paid for the product, and remember if they were fooled by the label indicating the product was “Imported from Italy.”

In response to those arguments, Judge Gonzalez Rogers indicated that Class Members would be able to submit evidence of purchase of olive on a class action Claim Form affidavit. Additionally, Judge Gonzalez Rogers said that all labels included the same wording on the label claiming “Imported from Italy” during the relevant Class period.

Kumar initially filed the proposed class action lawsuit in May 2014. The class action lawsuit claimed that Filippo Berio falsely labeled its olive oil as “Extra Virgin” and “Imported from Italy” when the olives actually come from Spain, Greece, and Tunisia.

The plaintiff also claimed that the olive oil products failed to meet state and federal requirements to allow the labeling as “extra virgin” because the olive oil was allegedly mixed with refined oils and subsequently packaged in clear bottles which caused oxidation of the product when exposed to sunlight.

In early 2015, the proposed class action survived dismissal and was allowed to continue after the “Extra Virgin” and other claims had been trimmed from the lawsuit.

In May 2016, Kumar filed the motion requesting Class certification which Judge Gonzalez Rogers granted on Friday.

Kumar is represented by Adam J. Gutride, Seth A. Safier, Marie McCrary and Kristen G. Simplicio of Gutride Safier LLP, and Hassan A. Zavareei, Jeffrey D. Kaliel and Andrew J. Silver of Tycko & Zavareei LLP.

The Filippo Berio Olive Oil Class Action Lawsuit is Rohini Kumar v. Salov North America Corp., Case No. 4:14-cv-02411, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Jan. 18, 2017, Salov North America Corp. has reportedly agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it deceptively labeled its Filippo Berio olive oil products as being “Imported From Italy.”

UPDATE 2: The Filippo Berio Olive Oil class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 3: On Feb. 7, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Filippo Berio Olive Oil class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!