Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote on behalf of a unanimous court that Pom can now sue Coke over a ‘misleading’ product label.
The dispute between the two companies has been ongoing since 2008, when Pom first argued that the pomegranate-blueberry juice blend sold by Coca-Cola-owned Minute Maid (which contains less than 1% pomegranate juice) was labelled to mislead customers.
The full name of the Minute Maid product is ‘Pomegranate Blueberry Flavoured Blend of 5 Juices’.
At issue was whether a private party can bring a Lanham Act false advertising claim against a product label regulated federally by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Pom Wonderful challenged a 2012 Ninth Circuit ruling that FDA regulations supersede Pom’s right to bring claims. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit, holding that competitors may bring Lanham Act claims like Pom’s challenging food and beverage labels regulated by the FDCA.
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