Flax USA Asks Court to Dismiss Flaxmilk Class Action Lawsuit

Flax USA Inc. has filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely advertising its Flaxmilk beverage product as “all natural,” arguing that a reasonable customer would not be deceived by this term on the label.

The Flaxmilk class action lawsuit was filed in November 2013 by plaintiff Garo Madenlian, who alleged that the food company deceptively labeled its Flaxmilk product “all natural” when it reportedly contains artificial and synthetic ingredients, which he argues are not natural.

In its Feb. 12 motion to dismiss the Flaxmilk class action lawsuit, Flax USA challenges the plaintiff’s definition of “all natural.”

“Plaintiff has not alleged and cannot allege a plausible, coherent definition of the term ‘All Natural’ that is shared by a reasonable consumer,” the motion states.

Flax USA also takes issue with Madenlian’s definition of artificial ingredients.

“Plaintiff’s vague reference to ‘artificial’ ingredients is confusing and irrelevant because the challenged ingredients at issue have not been defined as ‘artificial’ by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’),” the company adds. “Here, the term ‘All Natural’ on the Flax USA Flaxmilk constitutes a generalized, vague, and subjective statement, which is nonactionable, as reviewed by the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint.”

Madenlian cites the FDA, the motion says, which says that the word “natural” cannot be used “with artificial and natural foods, spices, flavorings, colorings, and preservatives on food labels.” However, Flax USA contends that the allegations do not link what the FDA defines as “artificial” with the specific ingredients “at issue in the flax milk products.”

Flax USA says that the ingredients at issue are stated on the labels of their flax milk products so that reasonable consumers can make an educated decision about whether or not they want to purchase the product.

“The label at issue never states that it is free of ‘synthetic’ ingredients,” the company says. “Even if [Madenlian] attempted to define the term by referring to products regulated under the National Organic Program . . . those regulations allow the use of synthetic ingredients in ‘organic’ products,” which Flax USA argues “are held to a higher standard than products labeled as ‘natural.'”

Flax USA also says that it should be expected that flax milk would be a processed product and that “a reasonable consumer would understand does not exist on its own in nature.”

The food manufacturer also wants the court to dismiss the allegations regarding the Vanilla and Original Flax USA Flaxmilk because Madenlian never purchased those particular products.

The class action lawsuit charges Flax USA with violating the California Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

The plaintiff is represented by Chant Yedalian of Chant & Co.

The Flaxmilk Class Action Lawsuit is Garo Madenlian v. Flax USA Inc., Case No. 8:13-cv-01748, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana Division.