Someone is suing Hershey candies for underfilling boxes of Whoppers and Reese’s Pieces. The package of malt balls, claims the victim, was only 59% full, while the package of chocolate-peanut butter treats was only 71%. This amounts, he says, to deceptive advertising.
This follows other suits over underfilled bags of potato chips and packages of pasta.
Judges are allowing all of these suits to go forward.
First of all, aren’t these foods all sold by weight, not volume? No one is being short-changed as long as 5 oz. of candy are in packages that promise 5 oz.
Second of all, Mr. Plaintiff, you have not been injured! You have no basis for suing the company whose product you bought of your own free will. (If you are annoyed that the 5 oz. of Whoppers are in too big of a box, buy the malt balls they sell in the gas stations that come in the clear cellophane bags. That way you can see exactly how much you are getting.)
Third of all, the courts have far more important cases they need to attend to than the size of your candy boxes. To the judges who aren’t throwing these cases out of court, what is the matter with you?
Fourth of all, find someone with a real problem and see if you could help.
From Abha Bhattarai, A man is suing Hershey for ‘under-filling’ his box of Whoppers – The Washington Post:
A lawsuit alleging that Hershey is intentionally under-filling packages of Whoppers, Reese’s Pieces and other candy has gotten the green light to move forward.
Robert Bratton of Missouri claims that the $1 packages of chocolate he bought last fall were only partially full. The box of Whoppers, he argued in the lawsuit, was about 59 percent full, while the box of Reese Piece’s was 71 percent full. He says Hershey is short-changing customers by being “misleading, deceptive and unlawful,” and is asking the company to pay back at least $5 million to its customers.
“The big picture is pretty obvious,” said David L. Steelman, a lead attorney on the case, and managing partner at Steelman, Gaunt & Horsefield. “Not only are federal regulations not being followed, but anybody who walks through a grocery store can tell manufacturers are trying to sell products based upon promises that simply aren’t true.”
The Hershey Co. disputes the allegation that its packaging is deceptive and sought to have the lawsuit thrown out, but U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey last week ruled that the case could move forward because “the Court cannot conclude as a matter of law and at this stage of the litigation that the packaging is not misleading.”
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of similar cases to make their way into America’s courts. Recent filings allege that Wise Foods’ bags of chips contain 67 percent air, Barilla is underfilling boxes of pasta, and Starbucks is putting too much ice in its iced coffee. In February, a California woman sued the maker of Mike and Ike for similar reasons. (With the exception of the lawsuit against Starbucks, which was tossed out by a judge, the others are ongoing.)
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