Walmart Class Action Claims Organic Eggs are Falsely Advertised

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Walmart faces a class action lawsuit claiming that their premium organic eggs are falsely advertised.

Lead plaintiff Brian Palmer has filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Cal-Maine Foods Inc. claiming that their premium organic eggs are not raised in the manner which is advertised.

This class action lawsuit is the second California complaint filed against Walmart and Cal-Maine regarding their premium organic eggs.

Cal-Maine is one of the largest shell egg companies in the United States and is responsible for selling eggs to consumers across the country under various store brands.

In 2016 alone, Cal-Maine allegedly sold more than 12 billion eggs, representing 23 percent of domestic egg consumption. Cal-Maine allegedly sells eggs under Walmart private labels, including Organic Marketside.

Walmart’s organic cage free eggs are allegedly labeled as laid by hens that are “free to roam, nest and perch in a protected barn with outdoor access.” Due to this claim, the eggs are allegedly priced higher than other cage free eggs which are labeled as “free to roam, nest and perch in a protected barn.” The cage free eggs are allegedly sold for $2.98 whereas the organic cage free eggs are sold for a premium price of $3.97.

The mislabeled eggs class action lawsuit claims that the hens are not allowed outdoor access like the label claims and are instead kept in enclosed porches. According to a private investigation done by the plaintiff’s counsel, hens in a Cal-Maine eggs farm are kept in bared, screened porches with no outdoor access. The Walmart class action lawsuit argues that the hens being able to see the outdoors is not the same as being able to roam freely with outdoor access.

Palmer argues that Walmart and Cal-Maine engaged in unfair business practices by claiming their hens had outdoor access in order to charge more money. The Walmart class action alleges that consumers would not have paid an increased rate for the premium organic eggs had they known that the claims were false.

“Defendants have unjustly benefited by receiving higher prices for their shell eggs than would have been possible absent the wrongful conduct,” the Walmart class action lawsuit states.

The Walmart eggs class action lawsuit argues that the deceptive marketing of the premium organic eggs is unethical and “impairs competition within the market for shell eggs, and prevents plaintiff and class members from making fully informed decisions about the kind of shell eggs to purchase and the price to pay for such products.”

Walmart and Cal-Maine are accused of breaking several California business laws based on behavior that is “unethical, oppressive, unscrupulous and injurious to consumers.”

Palmer seeks to represent a statewide Class of California residents who purchased Organic Marketside eggs from a Walmart supplied by a porch-based industrial egg farm, including but not limited to Cal-Maine’s porch-based industrial egg farm. The Walmart eggs class action lawsuit seeks a trial by jury, restitution, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Palmer and the proposed Class are represented by Steve Berman and Elaine Byszewski of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.

The Walmart Mislabeled Eggs Class Action Lawsuit is Brian Palmer v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-00459-DMS-KSC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.