Ice Cream maker sued by dieters for false labeling

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Article

 

Ice-cream firm agrees fat pay-out

 

A US ice-cream firm has settled a lawsuit brought by weight-watching customers - by giving them extra ice-cream.

 

Florida-based DeConna had been hit by a class-action court case, after complaints that its famous Big Daddy brand was not as low-fat as its advertising had claimed.

 

Although marketed towards the health-conscious consumer, Big Daddy has three times as many calories as some labelling claimed, the plaintiffs argued.

 

But in a $1m settlement of the two-year-old case, the firm has offered angry customers two scoops of ice-cream for every one they purchased.

 

Anyone who bought Big Daddy ice cream between 1995 and 2001 can take part in the hand-out, even if they did not have the foresight to save their receipts for the past eight years.

 

Business is booming

 

The case is a minor one within the heavyweight context of US corporate lawsuits, but it illustrates the growing power of the consumer.

 

US firms are particularly vulnerable to class-action legal cases, which bundle together hundreds of thousands of claims into complaints that can sometimes be worth many billions of dollars.

 

Some 10,000 class-action suits are filed every year in the US, mainly against companies.

 

It is big business for lawyers: one online service, Classactionamerica.com, operated by law firm Kahn Gauthier, claims to have settled cases totalling more than $46bn.

 

And the food business - currently under threat over allegations that it is responsible for obesity - is seen as one of the main areas of future litigation growth.

 

Thats just funny. Im sure the people actually want more of the ice cream instead of money.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Great, then they'll get sued for making these fatties even fatter.

 

Should have offered to buy everyone treadmills or something -- nobody would take 'em..

[Guest SweetNSexyDiva]

Another case of people trying to blame other for their own fucked up common sense.

[Guest deadbeater]

Sweet, that was outright false advertising. There are real low fat ice cream out there.