CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - Chicago federal judges are left with a sour taste in their mouths by class action lawsuits that want more lemon in lemon-flavored products.
"(S)he makes a big fuss about a little lemon," Judge Steven Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois wrote March 22 in dismissing Jeanne Matthews' case.
Two recent decisions tossed lawsuits by attorney Spencer Sheehan, the prolific class action lawyer from New York who has found himself the subject of some judges' displeasure. His cases usually target food-makers with allegations they should include more of whatever ingredient is on marketed on the front label.
In Matthews' lawsuit, that ingredient is lemon. They sued Polar Corp. over its lemon-flavored seltzer water that features lemon slices floating in blue bubbly water.
"But Matthews apparently was none too pleased to discover that the 12-pack of carbonated water contained a 12-pack of carbonated water," Seeger wrote. "She apparently wanted the cans of water to contain a bunch of juice. Not just a little juice - a big squeeze of lemon juice, right in each can.
"She was so troubled with the cans that she marched to the federal courthouse."
She sued even though the water does contain some lemon - just not as much as consumers would be led to believe by its packaging, the suit said.
"The complaint fizzles, and has no juice," Seeger added.
Judge Andrea Wood, of the same court, dismissed a lawsuit over Lemon Snaps cookies made by D.F. Stauffer Biscuit a week after Seeger's ruling. She wrote plaintiff Heather Rudy couldn't pass the "reasonable consumer" test to allege snackers would be tricked by packaging that featured lemons.
"Neither pictures of lemons nor the color yellow or text stating 'Lemon' gives reasonable consumers the impression that the product contains any particular amount of actual lemon - and surely not the specific expectation of a 'non-de minimis' amount," Wood wrote.
"It may well have been deceptive if, for example, the packaging depicted lemons and the cookies turned out to be mango-flavored."
The grocery chain Publix is hoping these Chicago decisions convince a Miami federal judge to rule the same. Sheehan and Will Wright are representing Heriberto Valiente in a lawsuit over honey-lemon lozenges.