Photo: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois - Eastern Division
A lawsuit against a snack maker is sticking around after being filed last year.
Late last month, Chicago federal judge ruled that a lawsuit against Inventure Foods could move forward after a woman claimed the company “misbranded” its “TGI Fridays Mozzarella Snack Sticks,” which do not include mozzarella cheese.
“Despite its label,the Product does not contain mozzarella cheese; rather, it contains cheddar cheese,” the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, reads, according toToday.
Amy Joseph first filed the suit in February 2021 against both Inventure Foods Inc. and TGI Fridays Inc. over the snack food that she argues is misleading due to both its title and images of mozzarella sticks on the front of the packaging.
In the suit, she claims the companies violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as “the respective state-law claims for consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices in all fifty states and the District of Columbia on behalf of herself and the nationwide class,“Todayreported.
The judge ruled that the suit could move forward against Inventure on Nov. 28, but not against TGI Fridays, as the restaurant chain licensed its logo but did not make the snack, perToday. Inventure parent company Utz did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
U.S. District Judge Robert Dow said Joseph’s allegations were “wholly conclusory and insufficient to render (TGI Fridays) liable,” perTop Class Actions.
“We are pleased with the judge’s ruling,” Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr., Joseph’s lead lawyer, toldToday. “The judge agreed with us that the claims in the lawsuit have merit, the case should not be dismissed, and the case may proceed against Inventure Foods as a nationwide class action lawsuit. We intend to proceed against Inventure Foods on behalf of the nationwide class of purchasers of TGI Fridays mozzarella sticks.”
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This is not the first time someone has sued a snack maker over the cheese it used.
Kraft Heinz denied the allegations, writing that the food was “made with delicious, high-quality ingredients that our fans know and love.”
source: people.com
