Harmless Harvest Coconut Water

August 2018: This case was voluntarily dismissed When a complaint is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled., the reasons for which have not been disclosed.

March 2018: A federal judge denied final approval of the settlement agreement concluding that it “[gave] preferential treatment to the named plaintiffs and class counsel, while providing virtually nothing of value for the class.” The judge was also concerned that class counsel did not adequately represent the class.

May 2017: A federal judge preliminarily approved the settlement. A final fairness hearing is scheduled for November 3, 2017. For more information, go to http://www.hhorganicsettlement.com/.

December 2016: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Harmless Harvest for allegedly misleadingly advertising its 100% Raw Coconut Water as “100% ORGANIC,” “USDA ORGANIC,” and “100% RAW” when a significant portion of the coconuts are not organic, USDA-certified organic, or raw.

Later that same month, plaintiffs moved for preliminary approval of a settlement agreement, which would require, if approved by the Court, the company to remove the terms “raw” and “100% Organic” from its labels – which have already been removed, according to the parties – for a period of two years but would allow the company to send similar messages using other language, such as “USDA ORGANIC.” The parties also agreed to have an independent third party review the accuracy of the labels for current and new flavors of coconut water for a period of two years. (Ma et al v. Harmless Harvest, Inc., Case No. 16-cv-7102, E. D. NY.)

For more information about other lawsuits regarding coconut water and TINA.org’s coverage of the product, click here.