NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A class action lawyer and his client are dismissing their lawsuit over fruit filling in Krispy Kreme apple pies rather than fight the company’s motion to dismiss.
Michael Williams and New York lawyer issued their notice of voluntary dismissal, without prejudice, of their lawsuit against Krispy Kreme on Sept. 17. The lawsuit claimed customers were misled into thinking Glazed Apple Pie products did not contain artificial flavors.
Williams alleges that Krispy Kreme's labels on its single-serving Glazed Apple Pies are misleading. He claims the product's front labels state they are "made with real fruit filling and other natural flavors" and use "original glazed flavoring" and do not disclose that the product has artificial flavoring. The product's ingredient list does disclose "natural and artificial flavors."
"Consumers expect that where a product identifies 'original glazed flavoring,' that flavor will be supplied by natural flavors instead of artificial flavors," the suit states. "However, the product is misleading because it does not disclose the glazed flavoring is the result of artificial flavor."
The company laid out its dismissal arguments in July in a letter to Judge Gregory Woods.
Krispy Kreme’s lawyers say there are several problems with Sheehan’s lawsuit, starting with its New York lead plaintiff attempting to lead a class of residents of the other 49 states.
They also say the plaintiff misinterprets “made with” to mean “made exclusively with.”
“The labels of the respective products… render Plaintiff’s interpretation of the labels as not containing any artificial flavors objectively unreasonable,” the letter says.
“Defendant believes this can be determined on a motion to dismiss, because it is not plausible to read the label as saying things it does not say.”