While class actions centered around "natural" claims remain popular with the plaintiffs' bar, this past year has seen some growing skepticism from courts towards such lawsuits, particularly where plaintiffs fail to adequately explain what is deceptive about the term.
In January, Judge
Other cases have followed similar reasoning. For instance, in McGinity v. Proctor & Gamble, 69 F. 4th 1093 (9th Cir. 2023), consumers sued P&G, alleging that the "Nature Fusion" label on P&G's Pantene Pro-V hair products misled consumers into believing the items were natural, despite containing synthetic ingredients. The district court dismissed the complaint, holding that a reasonable consumer would not be deceived by the label.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal, emphasizing the ambiguity of the term "Nature Fusion." The Court found that this ambiguity was resolved by reading the back label, which clarified that the products contain both natural and synthetic components, rendering the labeling of the product not deceptive as a matter of law.
Given the continued prevalence of lawsuits surrounding "natural" claims, companies should continue to exercise caution in assessing the messages conveyed by such claims in context. However, if courts continue to recognize the potential ambiguity in "natural" claims, as they have increasingly done over the past year, such claims may finally become a less popular target going forward, given their susceptibility to motions to dismiss and the difficulty of certifying a class.
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What's In A Word? The Legal Battle Over "Natural"
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