Facts

Hill's Pet Nutrition is a leading North American manufacturer and seller of pet foods, including certain canned dog foods. Hill guarantees the products the products are safe and are of high-quality. It also promotes different products as "Veterinarian Recommended", "Clinical Nutrition", and "Therapeutic Dog Nutrition." The products' labels represent that the dog food "provides complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs and growing puppies." Hill promises that their products meet the highest standards with high quality ingredients that are safe. In 2018, Hill's products were recalled because of an excessive amount of Vitamin D. After consuming Hill's products, many dogs became seriously ill or died after consumption. Following the recall, the Food and Drug Administration investigated and discovered Hill had not done any analytical testing on the vitamin premix. Plaintiffs brought a consolidated class action against Hill alleging that the products failed to comply with Hill's representations regarding their manufacturing claims.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended defendant violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act when defendant described its products to "support a healthy immune system", "improve and lengthen the quality of life", "support your dog's natural ability to build lean muscle daily," despite having the products containing an excessive amount of Vitamin D. Plaintiffs contended defendant breached an implied warranty of merchantability by marketing, distributing, manufacturing, and selling the products that were not merchantable. Plaintiffs contended defendant breached an express warranty when defendant guaranteed the products were safe for consumption by pets. Plaintiffs contended defendant was negligent when it failed to perform adequate testing and failed to make the products safe for dogs. Plaintiffs the products were defective. Plaintiffs contended they were unjustly enriched because defendants represented the product to be of a particular quality and fitness, which they were not. Plaintiffs contended defendant violated various state's laws by falsely advertising the products and caused plaintiffs' dogs to be seriously ill or to be deceased.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied that class action lawsuits are the most appropriate, efficient or comprehensive way to help consumers whose pets may have been affected by the recall. Defendants entered into this settlement to avoid burdensome and costly litigation and to focus on timely addressing consumer complaints. Defendants stated that despite their safeguards and industry-leading food safety and quality control programs, one of Hill's trusted suppliers, DSM Nutritional Products LLC, delivered vitamin mix that included too much Vitamin D. Defendants asserted that when they discovered the supplier error, in an abundance of caution and in coordination with the United States Food and Drug Administration, they voluntarily recalled all potentially affected canned dog foods, and confirmed that no dry dog food, cat food, or treats were affected. Defendants stand by their products, and have a long-standing process in place to investigate and respond to complaints that their food has caused an adverse health issue. Defendants utilized and enhanced that claims process to respond to requests by pet owners for payment of expenses allegedly related to the ingestion of the recalled food. Defendants also established a program to compensate veterinarians directly for diagnostic testing and office visits, to ensure that concerned pet owners could have their pets evaluated by their veterinarians without incurring out of pocket costs. This settlement also covered certain Prescription Diet and Science Diet canned dog foods that were not part of the recall. These foods were included in the settlement because, inter alia, they were sold at the same time as the recalled foods over a year ago and including them will make it as easy and convenient as possible for consumers to participate in the settlement. The non-recalled foods included in the settlement have not caused any confirmed injuries, nor did FDA require Hill's to expand the scope of the recall to include these foods.

Result

The case settled for $12,500,000. Class members may be reimbursed the full amount spent on defendant's products.