Class Decertified In A “Natural” Label Lawsuit

Northern District of California judge Lucy Koh has granted defendants’ motion to decertify a class she had certified in May of this year, in the long-running case Brazil v. Dole Packaged Foods, LLC. Plaintiff lawyers claim that the “all natural” designation on labels of ten Dole products was misleading. The decertification was based on the judge’s conclusion that there were shortcomings in the plaintiffs’ application of a statistical tool called regression analysis to calculate alleged overpayment on the basis of the label. This case points to a barrier to certification that many class action defense attorneys have raised, explains Brian Cave attorney James Smith: How can plaintiffs prove an injury has resulted from the purchase of “a low-cost product in a dynamic and competitive marketplace”?