“All Natural” Ben & Jerry’s Products

May 2014: The named plaintiff voluntarily dismissed this action When a complaint is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled., the reasons for which have not been disclosed.

January 2014: A federal judge denied class certification of a class-action lawsuit filed against Ben & Jerry’s in 2010. The complaint alleges that the company mislabels its products – including various flavors of Ben & Jerry’s “All Natural” Ice Cream, Ben & Jerry’s “All Natural” Frozen Yogurts, and Ben & Jerry’s “All Natural” Popsicles – as “all natural” when, according to plaintiffs, they actually contain synthetic ingredients.

The judge denied class certification for two reasons:

1. there was no way to determine which purchasers of Ben & Jerry’s products fit within the proposed class because there was no evidence as to which Ben & Jerry’s ice cream contained the allegedly “synthetic ingredient.”
2. there was no way to measure damages across the entire class because the amount of money consumers spent on the products at issue depended on where they bought the product since Ben & Jerry’s is a wholesaler and does not set retail prices.

(Astiana et al v. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., Case No. 10-cv-04387, N.D. Cal.).

For more information about other class-action lawsuits filed against Ben & Jerry’s, click here.