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Minute-Maid-Pomegranate-BlueberryThe U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week over whether or not Coca-Cola Co. can escape a lawsuit accusing the company of using a misleading label on its Minute Maid brand juice product that touts the presence of pomegranates and blueberries but contains only trace amounts of the fruit. The high court’s decision could have sweeping implications for pending and future false advertising class action lawsuits.

The crux of the food mislabeling lawsuit, filed by pomegranate juice maker POM Wonderful, centers on the Lanham Act, which is designed to protect trademarks. POM claims that the Minute Maid juice “Pomegranate Blueberry Flavored Blend of 5 Juices” is more than 99 percent apple and grape juice, with just 0.3 percent pomegranate juice and 0.2 percent blueberry juice. The problem, according to POM, is that this misleading label could hurt sales for its own product.

Lawyers for Coca-Cola argue that the case should be dismissed because POM cannot sue them for a “misleading” label under the Lanham Act.

Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to disagree with that argument, telling Coca-Cola’s lawyers Monday: “I don’t know why it’s impossible to have a label that fully complies with the FDA regulations and also happens to be misleading on the entirely different question of commercial competition, consumer confusion that has nothing to do with health.”

“I think it’s relevant for us to ask whether people are cheated in buying this product,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy, who also seemed to side with consumers who could be misled by the label. “Don’t make me feel bad because I thought this was pomegranate juice,” he added.

While the POM v. Coca-Cola case centers on the Lanham Act, a growing number of false advertising class action lawsuits filed in federal court have cited California’s Sherman Act in accusing companies of mislabeling their food products, but have run into issues with the doctrine of primary jurisdiction.

Judges in U.S. District Courts have been hesitant to allow private plaintiffs to continue in seeking damages over alleged food mislabeling even though the Sherman Act provides for just that sort of remedy if the advertising or product information in question violates the provision of the statutes that provide the Food and Drug Administration its powers. Rather, they argue that the FDA should be allowed to pursue whatever enforcement actions it would like first.

However, the justices who heard arguments from the legal team defending against the Coca-Cola pomegranate juice false labeling lawsuit identified a number of concerns that could have real benefits for consumers regardless of the actions of the FDA’s enforcement actions that are currently in place. They also seem to stand in opposition to at least some elements of the primary jurisdiction doctrine.

The support came from all parts of the political spectrum. Chief Justice Roberts said that meeting FDA regulatory requirements should not preclude concerns regarding the confusion of the legally critical reasonable consumer and competition between companies like POM Wonderful. Neither of those have anything to do with whether or not the product’s label is accurate pursuant to the FDA guidelines.

Food mislabeling class action lawsuits have also argued that those same guidelines should be “a floor, not a ceiling,” echoing the exact words used by the lawyer for POM Wonderful. The lawyer from the U.S. Justice Department seemed to agree in part, arguing that labeling mandated by the FDA should be off limits pursuant to the primary jurisdiction doctrine, but that legal action should be available regarding other claims and false advertising complaints.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed to be willing to undermine even that, however, arguing that the FDA has a wide variety of duties and that perhaps juice labeling might not be the priority that other duties are. The agency also approves all prescription medication and medical devices sold and marketed in the United States.

The Coca-Cola Pomegranate Juice False Labeling Lawsuit is Pom Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company, Case No. 13-cv-55770, in the Supreme Court of the United States.

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