CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - The lawyer who earned the nickname "Vanilla Vigilante" by peppering the food industry with lawsuits claiming vanilla wasn't real vanilla has now set his sights on caramel.
New York attorney Spencer Sheehan on March 10 sued Ferrara Candy Company, claiming the caramel in its Nips hard candies lacks the proper amount of milk fat. Sheehan points to a statement that the candies are "Rich & Creamy" is misleading to consumers.
"The representation as 'caramel,' described as 'Rich & Creamy,' causes consumers to expect a confection with a non-de minimis amount of milk fat," the lawsuit says. "However, the representations are false, deceptive and misleading, because the product's fat content is almost exclusively from vegetable fat."
Sheehan goes on to cite dictionary definitions of "caramel" and says all "credible" definitions of caramel candy include cream.
Sheehan has gained attention for his crusade against the food industry and was cited by the American Tort Reform Association as contributing factor to its placement of New York as the nation's No. 1 Judicial Hellhole.