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A class action lawsuit against Nestle Purina PetCare Co. claiming Beneful dog food killed or sickened thousands of pet has been dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen granted summary judgment to Purina Thursday, rejecting testimony from the plaintiffs’ expert that suggested Beneful dog food was the direct cause of their dogs’ illnesses or deaths.
Lead plaintiff Frank Lucido filed the class action lawsuit against Purina in February 2015, claiming the company failed to adequately test its dog food or disclose the presence of toxins in Beneful dog food.
Purina moved to dismiss the case in April 2015, calling it a “lawsuit-by-social-media.” However, the plaintiffs countered and moved for certification of 15 Classes and 15 subclasses in July 2015.
The Beneful dog food class action lawsuit mostly centered on whether the ingredients in the Beneful dog food were toxic. The plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. John Tegzes, an animal toxicologist, analyzed a limited sampling 28 of 1,400 Beneful dog food provided by pet owners who dogs got sick after consuming Beneful dog food.
Dr. Tegzes analysis allegedly revealed that three types of toxins: propylene glycol; mycotoxins, a fungal mold on grain; and the heavy metals arsenic and lead were present in the dog food that could pose a “significant health risk” to dogs.
While these toxin levels did not exceed the amount allowed by the FDA, Dr. Tegzes stated that the FDA did not take into consideration long-term exposure to the toxins in Beneful dog food.
But Judge Chen rejected Dr. Tegzes’ conclusion, ruling that the sampling study lacked specific data to support the findings: the exact level of mycotoxins in the dog food and what specific level of mycotoxins actually poses a safety risk. Additionally, the judge noted that the expert failed to examine the affected dog’s veterinary record and other health factors.
“Dr. Tegzes’s opinion is not reliable because the scientific literature he invokes is either too speculative or too imprecise. Simply put, Dr. Tegzes cites no epidemiological evidence that long-term exposure to mycotoxins at levels below the limits set by the FDA leads to serious health risks for dogs,” Judge Chen stated.
Further, the judge shut down the expert’s testimony that Purina failed to properly test its Beneful dog food, ruling that Dr. Tegzes had no specialized knowledge of the pet food manufacturing process, testing or quality control procedures.
Judge Chen also refused to permit Dr. Tegzes and another expert, veterinarian Dr. Jena Questen, to give testimony about the importance of dog food safety and testing for consumers, finding that neither witness was qualified to testify on “consumer preferences.”
Chen said the plaintiffs’ case ultimately relied on Tegzes’ opinions, and dismissed the case on grounds that “because the court finds Dr. Tegzes’ opinions unreliable, plaintiffs’ case has no evidentiary support.”
Judge Chen denied plaintiffs’ request to submit additional evidence.
The consumers are represented by Ram Olson Cereghino & Kopczynski, Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, Kimbrell & Solen LLC, Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC, Pastor Law Office LLP, Leonard Law Office PC, Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, Consumer Law Group, Lackey Hershman LLP, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP Gilman Law LLP, Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca LLP, the Animal Law Center, the Richman Law Group, Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin LLC and the Law Offices of S. Chandler Visher.
The Beneful Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit is Frank Lucido, et al. v. Nestle Purina PetCare Co., Case No. 3:15-cv-00569, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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50 thoughts onPurina Defeats Toxic Beneful Dog Food Class Action Lawsuit
Has made to many of my animals sick this needs to stop! You rescue a dog to give them a chance at a happy healthy life and BAM you feed them and feel guilty when they become so sick!
My 2 dogs died and the autopsy report said myotoxins. The only thing different I did to my dogs was give them this beneful garbage. My little guy was 8 yrs old, the other was 2.
my dog also was eating this dog food and she just died yesterday
Omg I feed My dog Beneful
Couple of years ago we fed our dog’s beneful Purena dog chow. My two dogs were throwing up blood . Thank God!! They they made it threw it. But they got a phone call and they denied that there’s was Nothing!! Wrong with there dog food . I had to send a sample of it , to the company so they could test it. They called me and said everything came back fine . Which I knew was a lie .. Please!!! DON’t feed your dog’s that , it will kill them . Thank God!! Mine were fine .❤️
When I fed Beneful to my puppy when It got him,he got deathly sick.So now I don’t buy anything with Beneful on it .Tried it again when he got bigger,same thing happened.
Innocent
Let me just say if they have look harder they would have found that this was not the only state that this happened in as I lost 2 dogs feeding same food, for 6 mo. many pet owner lost dogs while feeding this dog food and it a same that every thing was herd which is just wrong ,all about money these days so sorry for ones who lost pets to this.
The judge who presided in this matter is a POS and I hope they appeal and stick it to him.
Agreed. Maybe he should be fed Beneful to his family, and wonder if he understands the value of life. Recall time, or resubmit the class action elsewhere with more evidence, 28 samples is truly sad, and attorney not multiplying over long term use is also sad. Let’s do this all over again, but do expose this judge just like the judges who treat felony rapists with a slap on the wrist. Isn’t negligent death of many dogs equally important? They were truly no cent, but their penalty is death.
Sounds like someone might have gotten paid off to allow Beneful to walk away from this lawsuit unscathed. The judge should be force fed this food, see how long he lasts….
There has been an ongoing back and forth battle between Purina and Blue Buffalo. I used to feed BB until I noticed a difference in their formula and questioned BB. They not surprisingly, denied any change. Later found out they had changed to cheaper ingredients and I filed a claim on topclassactions.com.
I actually switched my dogs to Beneful after I noticed a friend had fed her dogs Beneful and they appeared to be healthy. All of her dogs died. My dogs after about 8 months on Beneful began to show illnesses including skin and gastrointestinal issues. I switched to another brand and their health has improved.
In my opinion, Purina, at least under Beneful is no better than Blue Buffalo. They seem to use their position as an established food manufacturer to manipulate things to their benefit and attempt to play off pet parents’ emotions to buy their products. Attention pet food manufacturers : If you want to see ” Emotions ” pay attention if something happens to one of our pets. I’m not trusting my dogs’ health to either one of these companies anymore. I do use other Purina products, have for years and thankfully no issues but, No More Beneful until and unless Purina is able to convince me that Beneful is not only nutritious but safe for my dogs and not through some cute advertising.
Interesting, I had to put down my trusted and loved companion of 9 years. A golden lab that was healthy but suddenly started vomiting. She had been fed Purina One from a pup along with my daughters little dog. They both stopped eating the lamb and rice formula. I had to feed them a bland mix of ground beef and rice as their stomachs were so sensitive. I believe there maybe more to this that is probably lost forever now.
I had to put my lab down because she had stomach cancer. Probably from the food.???