SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - Several men are suing a large retail spice company over allegedly misleading packaging of its ground pepper.
Ryan Scott Bunting, Brandon Grady, Tyler Underwood, and Nicholas Hilla, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class action complaint July 23 in U.S. District Court Southern District of California against McCormick & Co., alleging fraudulent and deceptive business practices and negligent misrepresentation.
According to the complaint, in February, McCormick reduced the volume of pepper contents in its tins by 25 percent, but rather than adjusting the tin size, it continued to sell the reduced quantity in the same size tins, resulting in 25 percent of empty space, or slack-fill, in its pepper containers.
The plaintiffs purchased McCormick's ground pepper products after February and were surprised to discover the significant slack-fill, according to the complaint.
The plaintiffs seek damages and injunctive relief, plus court costs. They are represented by Abbas Kazerounian and Gouya Ranekouhi of Kazerouni Law Group APC in Costa Mesa, Calif.; Joshua B. Swigart and Naomi Spector of Hyde & Swigart in San Diego; and Jeffrey M. Gottlieb and Dana L. Gottlieb in New York.
U.S. District Court Southern District of California case number 3:15-cv-01648-BAS-BGS.