Top Class Actions  |  February 3, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky

Class action lawsuit says Kingdom Pets chicken jerky treats contained contaminated Chinese-made meat, leading to the death of the plaintiff’s dog.

A federal judge on Thursday denied certification to a class action lawsuit over allegedly toxic Kingdom Pets chicken jerky treats, saying the Texas plaintiff cannot use California consumer protection statutes as the basis of her nationwide claims against manufacturer Globalinx Pet LLC.

Plaintiff Jennifer Holt alleges in the class action lawsuit that she bought Kingdom Pets dog treats on a regular basis for her dog Tucker beginning Dec. 11, 2011. According to the first amended complaint, her pet developed acute kidney failure and had to be put down on Mar. 28, 2012. She alleges the Kingdom Pets chicken jerky treats contained meat products from China, a source the “FDA has warned about” for being linked to numerous pet deaths in the United States.

Holt says she relied on false advertising claims that the chicken jerky dog treats were “wholesome and nutritious” and safe for sale, and that other consumers across the country also relied on the allegedly false advertising statements in making their purchasing decisions.

The problem, according to U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, is differences among state statutes affecting the proposed nationwide class of consumers, including California consumer protection statutes.

On Jan. 30, Judge Carter ruled that Kingdom Pets jerky treats manufacturer Globalinx Pet had adequately demonstrated that consumer protection statutes in Texas, Minnesota, Kentucky and Oklahoma have material differences and “because defendants have met their burden and demonstrated… materialy different consumer protection laws… nationwide certification is improper.”

Further, Holt herself cannot bring counts of damages on violations of California statutes because the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, barring certain situations, class actions should cite statutes from the state where transactions took place, which in this case would mean the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act.

It should be noted that Judge Carter did not rule on other issues of Rule 23 (b)(3) class certification requirements since the putative class will need to be pared down or other lead plaintiffs will need to join the next amended complaint regarding FDA warnings for the Kingdom Pets jerky treats and the alleged misrepresentations by Globalinx Pet.

Judge Carter further ruled that the amended class action lawsuit needs to clear up issues of reliance, as the manufacturer notes  there are different labels for each of the various Kingdom Pets products beyond those that the Texas woman believed implied they were “wholesome and nutritious,” and Holt did not purchase or rely on the alleged misrepresentations for other products that are currently included in the first amended complaint.

Holt is represented by Shawn Khorrami and Bevin Allen of Khorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti LLP and Daniel A. Edelman and Thomas E. Soule of Edelman Combs Latturner & Goodwin LLC.

The Kingdom Pets Chicken Jerky Dog Treats Class Action Lawsuit is Jennifer Holt v. Globalinx Pet LLC, et al., Case No. 8:13-cv-00041, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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