In the recent case Renfro v. Champion Petfoods, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a putative class action alleging that Champion Petfoods had deceptively marketed its Orijen-brand dog food. The plaintiffs’ claim centered around an incident in 2018, when Champion Petfoods recalled some Orijen products after discovering that they had been contaminated. According to the plaintiffs, this incident—as well as other aspects of Champion’s sourcing and manufacturing process—rendered false Champion’s marketing claims that the products’ ingredients were generally high-quality. In rejecting this contention, the Tenth Circuit reaffirmed a core principle of false advertising law: that false advertising claims must be based on alleged false assertions of fact, not vague or unprovable marketing statements. The Tenth Circuit also reaffirmed the important principle that only plaintiffs who have been directly and personally harmed by a purportedly misleading practice have Article III standing to bring suit regarding that practice.
Champion Petfoods markets Orijen as designed to mirror the varied diet of dogs in the wild. On Orijen’s packaging, Champion asserts that the product is “Trusted Everywhere”; contains “Fresh Regional Ingredients” and “Ingredients we Love [From] People we Trust”; and is “Biologically Appropriate” for dogs. In 2018, Champion learned that the beef fat used in some Orijen products had become contaminated with...
Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for relying on claims by United States President Donald Trump regarding the reported killing of senior Islamic ...