CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawyer will get to continue suing Reynolds Consumer Products because the bauxite used in its aluminum foil comes from different countries, despite claims the product is "Made in U.S.A."
Chicago federal judge Elaine Bucklo on Oct. 21 tossed four of attorney Spencer Sheehan's theories in the case but allowed claims for fraud, unjust enrichment and violation of consumer protection laws of 12 states to advance.
Reynolds had argued in a June motion to dismiss that raw materials are blended and processed in Arkansas, making the claim that foil is made in America accurate.
Sheehan has alleged violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptives Act and similar laws in Iowa, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Delaware, Wyoming, Virginia and Oklahoma.
"Defendant... argues that Plaintiff lacks standing to pursue claims on behalf of unnamed class members whose claims arisse under the laws of states where Plaintiff does not claim to have been injured," Judge Bucklo wrote.
"It is true that some courts have found this argument persuasive. In my view, however, the better course on the allegations here is to defer the issue to the class certification stage, as a number of other courts have done."
Bucklo wrote allegations that purchasers of Reynolds foil paid more than they would have if the foil had not been marketed as made in the U.S. are good enough to cross the line "from conceivable to plausible."
That's good enough to allege actual damages under the IFCA, she wrote.
The lawsuit says the bauxite used in Reynolds foil comes from other countries and that no bauxite mined in the U.S. since 1981 has been used for aluminum.
Sheehan lost his claims for breach of contract, breach of express or implied warranties, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Act and negligent misrepresentation.