CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - There are eight reasons to toss this class action lawsuit, Walmart is arguing in response to allegations its organic and raw honey is neither.
The company filed a motion to dismiss Dec. 7 in Chicago federal court, claiming plaintiff John Wertymer and his lawyers have not shown a reasonable consumer would be misled by the packaging on the honey.
"He contends the honey is not raw because it is heated too much during processing, and the organic product is not organic because Walmart adds foreign sugars," the motion says.
"Neither allegation is supported by the complaint (or true), and the laboratory reports Wertymer attaches to his complaint flatly contradict these claims."
Walmart argues its Great Value-brand "Raw Honey" and "Organic Raw Honey" satisfy the U.S. Department of Agriculture's definition of "raw honey." It adds the following arguments:
-Wertymer's own lab found no foreign sugars;
-A product's status as organic is not impacted by foreign sugars unless those sugars are prohibited by governing federal regulations;
-Wertymer can't allege the honey he bought is worth less than what he paid for it;
-He alleges no violation of a public policy or conduct so oppressive that consumers couldn't avoid it;
-He can't show Walmart had knowledge any statement was false;
-He does not face threat of future injury; and
-He has not alleged an intention to buy the honey again in the future.
According to Wertymer's allegations, Walmart is misleading consumers by labeling its Great Value-brand honey products as "raw" and/or "organic." He claims Walmart adds "foreign sugars" to its "Organic Raw Honey" and "excessively heats" the honey during processing, which causes the enzymes in the raw honey to be destroyed.
Specifically, Wertymer alleges Walmart uses Mannose, a mono saccharide not found in honey but regularly found in industrial sugars. He further alleges Walmart had actual knowledge that its Organic Raw Honey and Raw Honey are not raw or organic and do not have the benefits of raw honey.
Wertymer is represented by Spencer Sheehan and lawyers from Krislow & Associates in Chicago and Kent Heitzinger & Associates in Winnetka. They quickly submitted a motion for class certification after filing the complaint - a move that Judge Lindsay Jenkins ruled was premature.