EUGENE, Oregon (Legal Newsline) - An Oregon man is suing General Mills, alleging it mislabels certain products as being gluten free.
Christopher Hamilton of Marion County, Oregon, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit Feb. 29 in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon Eugene Division against General Mills Inc. and General Mills Sales Inc., alleging violations of the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act and consumer protection statutes in several states.
The suit alleges General Mills mislabels certain of its Cheerios as being "gluten free," when they are not. The complaint states testing showed that a sample of the purportedly gluten-free Cheerios contained 43 parts per million of gluten, which exceeds federal criteria for a food product to be labeled as gluten free.
Hamilton and others in the class seek compensatory and punitive damages, interests, restitution and other equitable monetary relief, injunctive relief, attorney fees and costs of the suit, plus a jury trial. They are represented by attorneys Bonner C. Walsh of Walsh LLC in Bly, Oregon, and Adam R. Gonnelli of Faruqi & Faruqi LLP in New York.
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon Eugene Division Case number 6:16-CV-00382-MC