WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – A New York man has initiated a class action lawsuit against a food manufacturer claiming its vanilla ice cream products sold through Save-A-Lot grocery stores contain flavor from "non-vanilla sources" and are misleadingly represented.
In his Oct. 12 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Dewight Smith, individually and on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, alleges violations of New York General Business Law, negligent misrepresentation, breach express of warranty, implied warranty of merchantability, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and fraud against defendant Moran Foods LLC.
The plaintiff alleges the defendant's ice cream products' labels give consumers the belief that vanilla is their sole flavoring source when it is not.
According to the suit, the plaintiff alleges Moran's vanilla ice cream products, sold under its Crown Creamery and World's Fair brands, give "the impression to consumers the products are only flavored by the characterizing ingredient and contains more of the characterizing ingredient than they actually do" and that the "ingredient list fails to dispel ambiguity and reinforces the front-label impression as to a greater amount of the characterizing ingredients."
The plaintiff also alleges the labels do not "conspicuously disclose the presence of artificial flavors on one of the products."
The plaintiff seeks permanent, injunctive relief, monetary and punitive damages as well as litigation costs. He is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC in Great Neck, New York.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York case number 7:19-cv-09453-KMK