Spector v. Mondelez International, Inc.

178 F. Supp. 3d 657, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42869, 2016 WL 1270493
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 31, 2016
DocketNO. 15 C 4298
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 3d 657 (Spector v. Mondelez International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Spector v. Mondelez International, Inc., 178 F. Supp. 3d 657, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42869, 2016 WL 1270493 (N.D. Ill. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Thomas M. Durkin, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Judy Spector brings this false advertising lawsuit alleging a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (“ICFA”), 815 ILCS 505/1 et seq. (Count I), breach of express warranty (Count II) and unjust enrichment (Count III). Plaintiff asserts these claims on behalf of herself and a class of nationwide or Illinois consumers. Jurisdiction is predicated' on the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2). Defendant seeks dismissal of the complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). The Court grants Defendant’s motion.

[661]*661STANDARD OF REVIEW

A Rule 12(b)(6) motion challenges the sufficiency of the complaint. See, e.g., Hallinan v. Fraternal Order of Police of Chi. Lodge No. 7, 570 F.3d 811, 820 (7th Cir.2009). A complaint must provide “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), sufficient to provide defendant with “fair notice” of the claim and the basis for it. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). This standard “demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While “detailed factual allegations” are not required, “labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. The complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “ ‘A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Mann v. Vogel, 707 F.3d 872, 877 (7th Cir.2013) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937).

BACKGROUND

For purposes of this motion, the Court presumes that the factual allegations in the complaint are true and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of Plaintiff. Mann, 707 F.3d at 877. Defendant Mon-deléz International, Inc. is the manufacturer of a product called belVita Breakfast Biscuits (“Breakfast Biscuits”) and a substantially similar product called belVita Breakfast Bites (“Breakfast Bites”) (collectively “the Products”). Plaintiff alleges that she purchased a package of Breakfast Biscuits on two occasions, and that in making those purchases she relied on the representations made by Defendant on the package label. R. 1 at 4-5 (¶ 12). Plaintiff reproduces in her complaint (and the Court will reproduce here) those parts of the packaging on which Plaintiff allegedly relied. First, Plaintiff points out that on the front of the Breakfast Biscuits box the word “Breakfast” appears immediately above the product name “belVita,” and below the product name is a picture of four biscuits. Id. at 6-7 (¶¶ 18-19). To the left of the picture is the phrase “NUTRITIOUS STEADY ENERGY ALL MORNING”:

[662]*662[[Image here]]

Id. (¶ 18). Plaintiff notes that the phrase “Nutritious Steady Energy All Morning” is included as part of a clock graphic with the hands of the clock pointing at both eight o’clock and twelve o’clock, and a swooping clockwise arrow representing the duration of a four-hour period of time between 8 a.m. and noon:

[[Image here]]

R. 1 at 7 (¶ 20). Plaintiff alleges that the Breakfast Bites box utilizes similar graphics and makes similar claims. Thus, on the front of the Breakfast Bites package is a clock icon like the one on the Breakfast Biscuits box except that instead of the clock hands, the Breakfast Bites box contains the phrase “4 hours”:

[663]*663[[Image here]]

Id. at 9 (¶ 24). The back of the Breakfast Bites box states that a single serving is “[a] nutritious start to a busy morning,” which is “a nutritious, convenient, on the go breakfast choice that contains slow-release carbs from wholesome grains to help fuei your body for 4 hours”:

Id. at 10-11 (¶ 26).

Plaintiff alleges that the Products’ packaging as set forth above is false and misleading in that it portrays the Products “as offering an entire wholesome breakfast providing at least four hours all morning of ‘nutritious steady energy’ in a single package of four Breakfast Biscuits or Bites, making them perfect for an ‘on-the-go’ lifestyle due to their being ‘portable.’ ” R. 1 at 2 (¶4). This portrayal of the Products, Plaintiff alleges, is misleading because the Products actually provide four hours of nutritious steady energy only if they are combined with a serving of low-fat milk. Id.; see also id. at 2-3,11 (¶¶ 3, 4, 7, 8, 30). Plaintiff does not allege that the Breakfast Biscuits she consumed — presumably alone (that is, without milk) — failed to meet her expectations regarding the promised four [664]*664hours of nutritious steady energy. Instead, the sole basis for her allegation regarding the need for a simultaneous serving of low-fat milk is Defendant’s supposed disclosure to consumers in other countries that a serving of milk is required. Id. at 12 (¶ 31). The only specific disclosures to which Plaintiff cites are made on Defendant’s website in Australia. Id. at 12-14 (¶¶31-34). According to Plaintiff, the representations on the Australian website show that “Defendant fails to state in its United States advertising that the purported studies on which Defendant claims to rely require that the Products be consumed with at least a serving of low-fat milk in order to obtain the benefits Defendant touts.” Id. at 12 (¶ 31).

In further support of the allegation that Defendant misleads consumers in the United States, Plaintiff cites to the back of the Breakfast Biscuits box, which repeats the claim of four hours of “nutritious steady energy all morning” while suggesting that Breakfast Biscuits be “enjoy[ed]... as part of a balanced breakfast with a serving of low-fat dairy and fruit”:

We all need energy to start the morning. But we also need energy that lasts. We worked closely with nutritionists to design belVita, which are specially baked to release energy regularly and continuously to fuel your body throughout the morning.
Enjoy belVita Breakfast Biscuits as a part of a balanced breakfast with a serving of low-fat dairy and fruit,

Id. (¶ 21); see also id. at 8 n.

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178 F. Supp. 3d 657, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42869, 2016 WL 1270493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spector-v-mondelez-international-inc-ilnd-2016.