Jamba Juice Settles Smoothie Kit Class Action Lawsuit

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On Monday, the parties in a class action lawsuit accusing Jamba Juice Co. of false advertising agreed to a proposed settlement that will require Jamba Juice to remove the “All Natural” labeling on its smoothie kits.

Lead plaintiffs alleged that Jamba Juice’s smoothie kits were improperly labeled “all natural” because they contained synthetic agreements, like gelatin and xanthan gum. The plaintiffs alleged that they and a class of consumers were mislead by the packaging into purchasing the juice drink.

Jamba Juice smoothie kits are sold in grocery stores, and include Mango-a-go-go, Strawberries Wild, Caribbean Passion, Orange Dream Machine and Razzmatazz. According to the Jamba Juice class action lawsuit, these products bore an “all natural” label but included a variety of synthetic ingredients. The plaintiffs claimed that Jamba Juice violated California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law.

Jamba Juice argued in a motion to dismiss in September that the Class was impossible to ascertain because the company didn’t have any record of their purchases, and on such a low-cost item, it’s unlikely that many buyers kept their receipts. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar disagreed and rejected Jamba Juice’s motion to dismiss the false advertising class action lawsuit in late November.

The Class includes “All persons in the United States who bought, for personal use only, one of the following Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit products from the period January 1, 2010 to the present: Mango-a-go-go, Strawberries Wild, Caribbean Passion, Orange Dream Machine, and Razzmatazz,” according to documents filed with the court on Monday.

The Jamba Juice smoothie kit class action settlement agreement will only be in effect as long as the allegedly synthetic ingredients are part of Jamba Juice’s smoothie kits or until regulators classify them as natural. The proposed Jamba Juice class action settlement does not address the potential monetary claims for consumers.

“The Parties engaged in extensive discovery before reaching the proposed settlement,” said the Jamba Juice class action settlement documents. “Defendants responded to two sets of requests for production of documents and two sets of special interrogatories. Defendants produced thousands of pages of documents, including their marketing materials, including all of the Smoothie Kit labels; emails surrounding their decision to use the ‘All Natural’ representations to promote the Smoothie Kits; pricing information and sales data; documents regarding the manner in which the Challenged Ingredients are manufactured; and information about Defendants’ ingredient suppliers.”

“Although the settlement does not include monetary relief for the Class,” said the preliminary approval filing, “it stops defendant’s allegedly unlawful practices, bars defendant from similar practices in the future, and does not prevent the Class Members from seeking damages.”

This past September, the judge certified a Class of consumers in California for liability but denied certification for a damages Class.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action attorneys David B. Rosenbaum, Maureen Beyers, James K. Rogers and Anna H. Finn of Osborn Maledon PA and Robert S. Niemann of Keller and Heckman LLP.

The Jamba Juice Smoothie Kit Class Action Lawsuit is Aletta Lilly, et al. v. Jamba Juice Company, et al., Case No. 13-cv-02998, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.