The manufacturer of Whole Grain Cheez-Its is being sued by three women who claim they were deceived upon buying the crackers because the main ingredient was enriched flour and not whole grain.

According to news reports, Linda Castle and two other plaintiffs are suing Kellogg's because the Cheez-Its box labeled "Whole Grain" or "Made with Whole Grain" only contains 5 to 8 grams of whole grain for each 29-gram serving. In their filing, the plaintiffs claim they were injured in fact because the crackers were worth less than what they paid for them. The plaintiffs are seeking "damages, other monetary relief, declaratory relief, and an order enjoining Kellogg's from continuing its false and misleading marketing."

In 2017, a federal judge dismissed the claim, ruling that the "Whole Grains" wording was factually correct. Recently, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal, noting that a reasonable consumer would think Cheez-It Whole Grain crackers were made with "predominantly whole grain."

The Second Circuit remanded the case for further proceedings. The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and want the court to certify a class.

—Source: The Wall Street Journal

A United States District Court has ordered a plaintiff to pay almost $9,000 in statutory costs after filing what has been deemed a frivolous case.

Former El Paso County Sheriff’s Sergeant John Huntz unsuccessfully sued El Paso County. In his federal lawsuit, Huntz claimed the Sheriff’s Office violated federal employment laws when he was fired in 2015.

According to news reports, Huntz claimed he was transferred from his role as a training officer to the night shift at the jail in retaliation because his wife had reported sexual harassment by a commander she worked with at the Sheriff Office’s dispatch center. Following his new assignment, Huntz went on leave for nearly eight months, until his employment was terminated in August 2015 because he failed to return to work. His wife’s claim was dismissed in 2017.

“We are entitled to all of these costs,” said County Attorney Amy Folsom. “The important thing to note is that the reimbursement will come out of the pocket of John Huntz himself. The defense of the County was unnecessary and we will continue to defend the County against all such frivolous claims.”

—Source: elpasoco.com

An Idaho couple has won a lawsuit against their Homeowner's Association that allegedly referred to their Christmas holiday light display as a "nuisance."

According to news reports, Jeremy and Kristy Morris lit up their yard for the holiday season with over 200,000 lights, masses of carolers and a real-life nativity scene, complete with a live camel. After receiving a letter from their Homeowner's Association trying to shut them down because their "beliefs were in conflict with neighbors," they sued, claiming they were "unlawfully discriminated against based on their religion."

In the suit, the Homeowner's Association denied the discrimination, saying the display was in violation of the association's governing rules that restrict "offensive noise," "increased traffic," and "excessively bright lights." However, audio played in court contradicted that statement, resulting in a jury award of $75,000 in damages.

The Morris family is not doing the house this year, but Jeremy is looking for another location because a big part of the event is a fundraiser for childhood cancer.

"This was about freedom of religion and property, and we hope this doesn't happen to anyone. Because there's going to be a federal lawsuit at the end of it," says Jeremy.

—Source: abc7ny.com

A Hawaiian man is suing the state of Hawaii, claiming he suffered a heart attack as a result of the mistakenly issued ballistic missile alert last year.

James Sean Shields and his girlfriend, Brenda Reichel, have named the state of Hawaii and the then-administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Vern Miyagi, in the lawsuit that seeks unspecified damages after a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee mistakenly sent the missile alert; a follow-up message was sent 38 minutes later notifying people it was a false alarm.

The lawsuit alleges Shields’ heart attack was the result of the false missile alert and the state’s failure to cancel it in a timely manner. According to news reports, shortly after the notice Shields went to a community clinic, where he suffered cardiac arrest. Reichel claims she suffered “emotional upset” from watching Shields almost die.

“Both plaintiffs believed this message to be true and were extremely frightened and thought they were shortly going to die,” the lawsuit said.

“We’re going to reserve any comment until we have had a chance to review the claims,” said Richard Rapoza, a spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

—Source: westhawaiitoday.com