The Junior Mints Slack-Fill Class Action Lawsuit is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is entitled Biola Daniel v. Tootsie Roll Industries LLC (Case No. 1:17-cv-0754).
Mr. Biola Daniel claims that Tootsie Roll Industries LLC tricks consumers into thinking they are buying more of the Junior Mint Candies product than it actually contains. Mr. Daniel states that 43 percent of the 3.5-ounce box of Junior Mints contains empty space. The class action lawsuit goes on to state that the deceptive packaging is non-functional slack-fill, which violates the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and New York consumer protection laws.
The key to the Junior Mint lawsuit will be if the slack-fill serves a legitimate purpose (such as protecting the product within the packaging). Non-functional or excessive slack-fill is prohibited under the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and New York consumer protection laws.
Key points Biola Daniel makes include comparable products such as Good & Plenty candy and Milk Duds. A similarly sized package of Good & Plenty contains only about 12 percent slack-fill, and a box of Milk Duds contains about 23 percent slack-fill.
If in fact a Junior Mints 3.5-ounce box has 43% empty space compared to other similar products Tootsie Roll Industries LLC will have to provide a legit reason as to why the extra space is needed.
Plantiff Biola Daniel is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC
What do you think? Leave a comment below…
I’m not a big fan of class action lawsuits but I would say Junior Mints have a little too much air in them… unless Tootsie can prove the space is needed I feel like its a legit lawsuit… maybe consumers will get a free box of Junior Mints out of the deal.
That would be a sweet settlement