NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - A class action lawyer called a "wrecking ball" by one federal judge has avoided punishment in one of his failed cases but is now off to a federal appeals court to protest a $500 fine against him in another.
Spencer Sheehan has angered defendants and some judges with his hundreds of lawsuits alleging various novel theories of consumer deception. For instance, a Chicago federal judge recently tossed his case claiming consumers thought eggs labeled "farm-fresh" at Kroger came from cage-free hens.
Companies he targets have increasingly asked for payback. Kroger filed a motion for sanctions after winning the eggs case, but Judge Charles Kocoras on Jan. 31 rejected it.
"Although this Court shares its colleagues' concerns regarding Mr. Sheehan's litigation history, it declines (to) acquiesce to Kroger's request for sanctions here - tempting though it may be," Kocoras wrote.
"In the Court's view, Mr. Sheehan's claims in this case, while dubious and unsuccessful as a matter of law, cannot be characterized as completely baseless such that they rise to the level of sanctionable."
Kocoran's order keeps Sheehan from a punishment like paying Kroger's attorneys fees. A Florida judge has already ordered him to pay $140,000 to Big Lots for pursuing a theory that had already lost in New York, while Ricola seeks a $60,000 penalty after winning dismissal of a case over herbal menthol in cough drops.
Briefs against Sheehan are gaining more ammunition, with Kroger including a section called "Bad-Faith Background: Mr. Sheehan's History of Knowingly Filing Frivolous Claims Demonstrates His Recklessness Here."
The brief includes quotes from judges, like:
-"Mr. Sheehan's practice appears to rely on businesses agreeing to quick settlements without bringing dispositive motions, regardless of how frivolous the underlying claims may be, undoubtedly because the settlement amount is less than what it would cost to fight the claims"; and
-"Many of the complaints have suffered the judicial equivalent of a crash landing... Lawyers have an obligation to file cases in good faith."
His Kroger case was his second of the kind and failed to get past a motion to dismiss, when Kocoras ruled calling eggs "farm-fresh" doesn't mislead consumers into thinking they were laid by free-range hens.
The suit said customers believed hens were living "a natural life on a farm," and the chickens producing Kroger's eggs aren't living on what consumers would call a farm, but allegedly large-scale industrial confinement.
"But the term 'farm fresh' does not say or suggest anything about whether the eggs came from a hen that was caged or not," Kocoras wrote. "(The plaintiff) is attempting to 'impute meaning that is not fairly derived from the labeling itself.'"
Elsewhere, in his home state of New York, Sheehan waited more than a year to find out his punishment in a case against Starbucks. He sued the company in 2022, with his plaintiff Kristie Brownell alleging the company charged price for its French Roast Ground 100% Arabica coffee that was higher than similar products.
Calling it "100% Arabica" led customers to believe there were no additives, the suit says, despite the presence of added potassium. Judge Frederick Scullin found there was no added potassium, then in November 2023 found Sheehan in civil contempt for filing a frivolous lawsuit.
"In sum, Mr. Sheehan filed Plaintiff's complaint without any studies, relevant caselaw, or reasonable interpretations of the wording on the Product label to support the allegations contained within," Scullin wrote.
It took more thn 13 months for Scullin to levy a punishment, which turned out to be $500. Sheehan recently filed his appeal of that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
He still fights a lawsuit in Florida state court by Ashley Furniture that alleges Sheehan's business model is more about extortion than justice for consumers. The judge hearing the case has denied Sheehan's motion to dismiss, which claimed Ashley failed to adequately allege malicious prosecution.
Sheehan abandoned his lawsuit against Ashley after the defendant was forced to spend $116,000 on a motion to dismiss that was never filed.
The suit against Ashley, filed in New York federal court, targeted the warranty. Ashley's in-house counsel told Sheehan that he would need to sue either the licensee or the warranty company, but he proceeded with his suit anyway and even filed a motion for class certification.
In communication with Ashley's lawyer, Sheehan told them to "go file your Rule 11 motion" for sanctions and that he faces threats like that "all day long."
Ashley's outside counsel explained why Ashley was not the proper defendant, but Sheehan continued with the case. After the case was pending for three months, he told Ashley that thanks to his "independent research" he would voluntarily dismiss the case for no compensation.
Sheehan has sued because the strawberry flavoring in Pop-Tarts comes from pears and apples and is dyed red. He complained Bagel Bites have cheese that is a blend made with skim milk and feature tomato sauce that contains ingredients consumers wouldn't expect (the judge hearing that case called his claims "unreasonable and unactionable").
In 2023, he lost a lawsuit that said the fudge in fudge-covered Oreos should adhere to traditional definitions of "fudge" by containing more milk fat and not palm oil and nonfat milk.
A Sept. 23 ruling in New York ordered Sheehan to pay a defendant's excess costs and fees and hit him with a $1,000 fine. He had sued the Dutch airline KLM, alleging it induced consumers to fly on it by misrepresenting its commitment to climate goals.
During litigation, it came to light his plaintiff had used a third party to book tickets and had not specifically picked KLM. Judge Ronnie Abrams said she hopes "Sheehan has learned a valuable lesson."