SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – A consumer claims that a brand of frozen fruits and vegetables falsely advertises that the produce is grown in a specific region in Washington state.
Brendan Peacock filed a complaint on behalf of himself, the general public and those similarly situated on March 6 in the Alameda County Superior Court against Small Planet Foods Inc., General Mills Inc. and Does 1-50 alleging fraud, false advertising and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants deceptively market their Cascadian Farm brand frozen fruits and vegetables "to mislead consumers into believing that all of their frozen fruit and vegetable products are grown on an organic farm in Skagit Valley" in Washington. The plaintiff alleges the produce is sourced from around the country and the world.
The plaintiffs hold Small Planet Foods Inc., General Mills Inc. and Does 1-50 responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to inform consumers that their products did not originate from the Cascades or Skagit Valley in Washington.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against defendants, injunctive relief, restitution, award of compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs of suit, and further relief as the court may deem just. He is represented by Adam J. Gutride, Seth A. Safier, Marie McCrary and Kristen G. Simplicio of Gutride Safier LLP in San Francisco.
The defendant removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on April 6.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case number 3:18-cv-02105