Truxel Et Al. V. General Mills Sales, Inc. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT 1
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Case 4:16-cv-04957-JSW Document 1 Filed 08/29/16 Page 1 of 167 1 THE LAW OFFICE OF JACK FITZGERALD, PC JACK FITZGERALD (SBN 257370) 2 [email protected] 3 TREVOR M. FLYNN (SBN 253362) [email protected] 4 MELANIE PERSINGER (SBN 275423) 5 [email protected] Hillcrest Professional Building 6 3636 Fourth Avenue, Suite 202 7 San Diego, California 92103 Phone: (619) 692-3840 8 Fax: (619) 362-9555 9 Counsel for Plaintiff and the Putative Class 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 12 BEVERLY TRUXEL and STEPHEN 13 Case No.: HADLEY, on behalf of themselves, all 14 others similarly situated, and the general CLASS ACTION public, 15 COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATIONS OF 16 Plaintiffs, CALIFORNIA’S FALSE ADVERITSING 17 LAW, CONSUMERS LEGAL v. REMEDIES ACT, AND UNFAIR 18 COMPETITION LAW GENERAL MILLS SALES, INC., 19 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL 20 Defendant. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Truxel et al. v. General Mills Sales, Inc. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Case 4:16-cv-04957-JSW Document 1 Filed 08/29/16 Page 2 of 167 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 3 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 4 THE PARTIES ......................................................................................................................... 1 5 JURISDICTION AND VENUE .............................................................................................. 1 6 7 INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT ......................................................................................... 2 8 FACTS ..................................................................................................................................... 2 9 10 A. There Has Been a Recent Rise in Human Sugar Consumption .......................... 2 11 B. The Body’s Physiological Response to Excess Sugar Consumption .................. 7 12 1. The Body’s Response to Glucose ............................................................. 7 13 14 2. The Body’s Response to Fructose ............................................................. 9 15 3. The Addiction Response ......................................................................... 11 16 17 C. There Has Been a Dramatic Rise in Obesity & Chronic Disease That Parallels the Rise in Human Sugar Consumption ............................................. 11 18 19 D. There is Substantial Scientific Evidence That Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Metabolic Syndrome, Cardiovascular Disease, 20 Type 2 Diabetes, and Other Morbidity .............................................................. 12 21 1. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Metabolic Syndrome ..................... 13 22 23 2. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Type 2 Diabetes ............................. 16 24 3. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Cardiovascular Disease ................. 20 25 26 4. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Liver Disease ................................. 22 27 5. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Obesity ........................................... 23 28 i Truxel et al. v. General Mills Sales, Inc. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Case 4:16-cv-04957-JSW Document 1 Filed 08/29/16 Page 3 of 167 1 6. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes Inflammation ................................. 27 2 7. Excess Sugar Consumption Causes High Blood Triglycerides 3 and Abnormal Cholesterol Levels ........................................................... 29 4 8. Excess Sugar Consumption is Associated with Hypertension................ 32 5 6 9. Excess Sugar Consumption is Associated with Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, and Cognitive Decline ............................................. 34 7 8 10. Excess Sugar Consumption is Linked to Some Cancers ........................ 35 9 GENERAL MILLS’ MARKETING & SALE OF HIGH-SUGAR FOODS ........................ 35 10 11 A. Cheerios ............................................................................................................. 40 12 1. Honey Nut ................................................................................................ 41 13 2. Apple Cinnamon ...................................................................................... 42 3. Frosted .................................................................................................... 43 14 4. Yogurt Burst Strawberry Flavor ............................................................. 45 15 5. Fruity ....................................................................................................... 46 6. Banana Nut .............................................................................................. 48 16 7. Multi-Grain ............................................................................................. 49 17 8. Chocolate ................................................................................................ 51 9. Cinnamon Burst ...................................................................................... 52 18 10. Dulce de Leche ........................................................................................ 54 19 11. Multi-Grain Peanut Butter ...................................................................... 55 12. Multi-Grain Dark Chocolate Crunch ..................................................... 56 20 13. Honey Nut Medley Crunch ...................................................................... 58 21 14. Protein – Oats & Honey .......................................................................... 60 15. Protein – Cinnamon Almond ................................................................... 61 22 16. Cheerios + Ancient Grains ..................................................................... 62 23 B. Fiber One ........................................................................................................... 64 24 25 1. Raisin Bran Clusters ............................................................................... 64 2. Honey Clusters ........................................................................................ 65 26 3. Nutty Clusters & Almonds ....................................................................... 68 27 4. Protein Maple Brown Sugar ................................................................... 70 28 5. Protein Cranberry Almond ..................................................................... 72 ii Truxel et al. v. General Mills Sales, Inc. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Case 4:16-cv-04957-JSW Document 1 Filed 08/29/16 Page 4 of 167 1 C. Chex Cereal ....................................................................................................... 73 2 1. Chocolate ................................................................................................ 73 3 2. Cinnamon ................................................................................................ 74 4 3. Honey Nut ................................................................................................ 75 4. Vanilla ..................................................................................................... 76 5 5. Apple Cinnamon ...................................................................................... 77 6 D. Single- or Limited-Variety Cereals ................................................................... 78 7 8 1. Basic 4 ..................................................................................................... 78 2. Raisin Nut Bran ....................................................................................... 79 9 3. Oatmeal Crisp - Crunchy Almond & Hearty Raisin ............................... 81 10 E. Children’s Cereals ............................................................................................. 84 11 12 1. Honey Kix ................................................................................................ 84 13 2. Tiny Toast – Strawberry & Blueberry..................................................... 86 3. Cinnamon Toast Crunch ......................................................................... 88 14 4. Cocoa Puffs ............................................................................................. 90 15 5. Lucky Charms .......................................................................................... 93 6. Trix .......................................................................................................... 96 16 7. Reese’s Puffs ........................................................................................... 98 17 F. Nature Valley Breakfast Biscuits .................................................................... 100 18 19 1. Blueberry ............................................................................................... 100 2. Honey .................................................................................................... 102 20 3. Lemon Poppy Seed ................................................................................ 102 21 4. With Almond Butter ............................................................................... 103 5. With Peanut Butter ................................................................................ 105 22 23 G. Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares ................................................... 105 24 1. Blueberry ............................................................................................... 105 25 2. Cinnamon Brown Sugar ........................................................................ 106 3. Peanut Butter........................................................................................