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ARTICLE · 13 MAY 2024

Courts Neutralize Baseless Acid Lawsuits

Proskauer Rose LLP
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Over the last few years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed, and many more threatened, involving advertising claims that a product has no artificial preservatives or flavors. In many cases, the plaintiffs...

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Jeffrey Warshafsky
Jeffrey Warshafsky
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Over the last few years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed, and many more threatened, involving advertising claims that a product has no artificial preservatives or flavors. In many cases, the plaintiffs allege such advertising claims are false because the products contain citric acid, malic acid, or other organic acids and natural ingredients.

Plaintiffs in these cases typically allege that these ingredients are produced synthetically, but often fail to plead any factual basis for this assertion. This "shoot first ask questions later" approach is improper. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 11. It also violates the federal pleading standards, as two recent decisions recognized. See Valencia v. Snapple Beverage Corp., 2024 WL 1158476 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2024); Trammell v. KLN Enters., 2024 WL 1722243 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 22, 2024).

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