ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) – The plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against a tortilla chip manufacturer has voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit.
Dominique Morrison filed the complaint against Texas Snack Co. Amplify Snack Brands earlier this year.
The lawsuit claimed Amplify misrepresented the contents inside its Paqui Roasted Jalapeno and Grilled Habanero tortilla chips. Morrison claims the product has sugar inside but that the label does not properly indicate that ingredient.
She alleged that she suffered monetary damages after false advertising by Amplify with regard to its products. Her complaint claims the chips have a flavoring dust that contains trace amounts of cane sugar.
Amplify stated in its request to have the lawsuit dismissed, filed April 24, that the sugar was deemed an “insignificant amount” by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulations required it to put zero grams of sugar on the label, and sugars were less than 5 percent of the flavor seasoning, the company said.
“Plaintiff fails to allege any facts to support her conclusory allegation that Paqui charged a price premium based on the way it described trace amounts of sugar, and has thus not established an ascertainable loss. Similarly, she has not alleged any facts showing that trace levels of sugar in tortilla chips is somehow material to consumers – especially given that FDA regulations hold otherwise,” court documents state.
It accused her of being a “serial litigant” who has filed two other class actions with the same lawyers. It also indicated she declined a full refund for the product and was unable to back up her claims with facts.
“She does not identify what statements she read or relied on in making her purchase, or which statements supposedly deceived her or why,” the motion to dismiss states.
The suit was originally filed in a state court in St. Louis but moved to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by the defendant.
Morrison voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit, without prejudice, on April 27.