On Monday, General Mills, Inc. filed a notice of removal with the Southern District of California to remove the case of Schweinsburg v. General Mills, Inc. from California state court. The original class action complaint was filed by Loretta Schweinsburg, alleging unfair competition and breach of the implied warranty of merchantability.
According to the complaint, General Mills, Inc. and General Mills Sales, Inc. are Delaware corporations headquartered in Minnesota. Further, the complaint states General Mills manufactures, distributes and sells the Hamburger Helper line of products across the United States and California.
The complaint states that Schweinsburg is a California citizen who repeatedly purchased Hamburger Helper from California grocery stores for personal and household consumption. The complaint purports that Schweinsburg filed the present class action suit after discovering that General Mills had been selling Hamburger Helper illegally for years by including partially hydrogenated oil in the product.
The complaint alleges that partially hydrogenated oil is a toxin and carcinogen with many safe and commercially viable substitutes. Further, the complaint states that in orders dated November 8, 2013 and June 17, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that partially hydrogenated oil is unsafe for use in food. However, the complaint states that partially hydrogenated oil was considered an unlawful food additive under California and federal law even before the two FDA orders.
The plaintiffs allege that despite safe, low-cost and commercially acceptable alternatives to partially hydrogenated oil existing, and partially hydrogenated oil being an unlawful food additive, the defendants still chose to use it in Hamburger Helper to increase profit at the expense of the health of consumers.
The complaint further argues that the defendants’ use of partially hydrogenated oil in Hamburger Helper is unlawful under fair competition laws as it is an illegal food additive that most manufacturers of competing packaged food products responsibly refrained from adding.
The plaintiffs argue that they would not have purchased Hamburger Helper if they had been aware of the use of partially hydrogenated oil and its negative health effects, and they now suffer physical injury, in the form of a substantial and measurable increase in the risk of disease and early death, and economic injury. The plaintiffs seek class certification, an award of actual damages, punitive damages, and restitution of $60 million, pre- and post-judgment interest, declaratory relief, attorney’s fees and costs for the defendants’ breach of Unfair Competition Law and the implied warranty of merchantability.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Weston Firm, and the defendants are represented by Perkins Coie.
