The Ninth Circuit's Food Court Menu: A Status Update

A few years back, the Northern District of California was dubbed the "food court" based on the influx of food misbranding class actions claiming that alleged FDA regulatory infractions constituted violations of California consumer deception statutes.  The first cases in the misbranding pack were appealed to the Ninth Circuit, with plaintiffs challenging district courts' denials of class certification and grants of summary judgment in favor of defendants, while the matters filed later were stayed pending the Ninth Circuit's guidance on these class certification and summary judgment issues.  Now, the Ninth Circuit has weighed in on a few of the pending misbranding appeals.  But its decisions thus far raise more questions rather than provide clear answers.  Below, we review the status of key Ninth Circuit misbranding appeals as well as the impact of these decisions on class certification and summary judgment standards going forward.