KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) – An Illinois man is suing a honey producer over allegations its honey is not raw as advertised.
Dave Wingate, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on Aug. 27 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against Barkman Honey LLC and True Source Honey LLC alleging negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and other counts.
The suit states Barkman Honey sells Naked Wild Great Lakes Raw Honey that is described as "raw and unfiltered" and as "100 percent pure raw honey." The suit states True Source permits Barkman to use the True Source Certified label.
The plaintiff alleges that Barkman's honey is not raw because Barkman heats it to a temperature of more than 105 degrees to make it easier to bottle and package.
"When raw honey is heated to more than 105 degrees, the enzymes in the honey that are prized by consumers become denatured," the suit states. "That is to say, they begin to break down and are lost."
Because of this, the plaintiff alleges the True Source certification is false.
The plaintiff is seeking a trial by jury, declaratory relief, attorneys' fees, costs and just relief. The plaintiff is represented by J. Phillip Gragson, John H. Hutton and Kathleen S. Harvey of Henson, Hutton, Mudrick, Gragson & Vogelsberg LLP in Topeka, Kansas; Kent A. Heitzinger of Kent A. Heitzinger & Associates in Winnetka, Illinois; and Terrence Buehler of The Law Offices of Terrence Buehler in Chicago.
U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas case number 5:19-CV-04074