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Class Action

VitaRain Water

Class Action

VitaRain Water

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May 2016: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the dismissal of the action without prejudice and instructed the district court to re-enter its dismissal judgment When a complaint is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled..

January 2014: After the district court refused to amend the judgment to be a dismissal When a complaint is dismissed with prejudice, it cannot be refiled., Costco and Niagara Bottling filed Notices of Cross-Appeal regarding the November 2013 dismissal and the January 2014 judgment denying the defendants’ motion to amend the judgment.

November 2013: A federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Costco Wholesale Corp. and Niagara Bottling, LLC. The plaintiffs, who originally brought their lawsuit in 2012, alleged that (1) the use of the name “VitaRain” implies that the drink is nutritional, healthy, and full of vitamins only, when that is not the case, (2) the companies represented that the drink contains “natural caffeine” when it doesn’t, and (3) the companies represented that the drink is a “natural tonic” when it actually contains unnatural ingredients. The judge dismissed the complaint When a complaint is dismissed without prejudice, an amended version of the complaint can be refiled..

With respect to the name “VitaRain,” the judge did not find it plausible that the name could deceive consumers because it is “largely nonsensical.” The judge also stated that the plaintiffs failed to plead that VitaRain is not actually “nutritional” or “healthy.” With respect to the “natural caffeine” and “natural tonic” claims, the judge decided that the plaintiffs failed to adequately plead that the products’ labels caused them financial harm because they didn’t even allege that they ever read the statements at issue or that they based their purchasing decision on those statements.

Later in November, the named plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal regarding the dismissal. (Maple et al v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, Niagara Bottling LLC, and Does 1-100, Case No. 12-cv-05166, E. D. WA.).

 

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