-
Starbuck’s Ice—The latest suit against Starbucks alleges that the company puts too much ice in its drinks, so much in fact that it reduces the size of a 24-ounce drink to 14 ounces. Naturally, Starbucks claims the suit is frivolous and without merit, adding that customers can just ask to have their drinks remade if they are not satisfied.
-
Price Comparison—Consumers frequently shop at stores where a product lists an “original” price that is crossed out to show a reduced price. Companies such as Kohl’s, Nordstrom, and other retailers have been sued for misleading price comparisons as a violation of a state’s consumer protection statutes. However, in a Massachusetts case decided earlier this year, the court found that plaintiffs failed to allege a sufficient injury.
-
VW Diesel—These suits have been filed across the country, and closer to home, the Sommers Schwartz Law Firm initiated several last fall in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. In December, the majority of those suits were consolidated in the Ninth Circuit in the Northern District of California. In a related whistleblower suit, an ex-Volkswagen employee said he was fired when he refused to participate in the deletion of documents that were germane to the Justice Department’s criminal investigation of emission test cheating. The former employee, an information manager, claims he was let go when his superiors suspected he was about to report the company for obstruction of justice.
-
Old Spice Deodorant—In a class-action suit filed just this past March, plaintiffs allege that Old Spice Deodorant left them with a severe skin reaction, including rashes and chemical burns. The suit, filed in Columbus, claims there have been hundreds of online complaints, but that Old Spice is “concealing [the problem] in order to continue selling the product and reap windfall profits.”
-
Whole Foods Wine—In a recent filing, plaintiffs allege that Whole Foods misled consumers by displaying signage that gave certain wine a high numerical rating when the actual wine displayed with the signage was of a different vintage and did not have the high rating. The complaint goes on to say that this is not a practice of just one Whole Foods store, but in fact a “systematic practice[] that affect[s] customers across California.”
-
Safeway Parmesan Cheese—This suit, filed on behalf of two consumers, claims Safeway engaged in mislabeling and false advertising of the Safeway-branded “Signature Kitchens 100% Grated Parmesan” cheese. Kraft Heinz is involved in a similar suit over fillers such as wood pulp and cellulose. These suits, according to delish, caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to warn consumers that pregrated Parmesan from the grocery store could actually consist of cheap cheddar and wood pulp.