Kellogg Says Lawsuit Over Strawberry Pop-Tarts “Does Not Pass The Straight Face Test”

In a motion to dismiss, Kellogg says that the plaintiff has failed to show that reasonable consumers would be fooled into thinking Strawberry Pop-Tarts contain nothing but strawberry, according to a report in Legal Newsline.

New York attorney Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates is notorious for suing food companies over allegedly misleading labels. Last September, Sheehan sued Kellogg in New York federal court claiming consumers wouldn’t know from glancing at the label that Strawberry Pop-Tarts contain pears and apples, as disclosed in the ingredients list on the package. He also claimed red dye only increased the confusion, leading consumers to believe Pop-Tarts are healthy snacks containing fresh strawberries. 

Kellogg’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss on April 16, refuting each of Sheehan’s claims. In the motion to dismiss, Kellogg lawyers say that the confusion the named plaintiff claims to have suffered “does not pass the straight face test,” let alone the standard the U.S. Supreme Court laid down in its landmark Ashcroft v. Iqbal decision, which requires plaintiffs to present facts supporting the plausibility of their claims.