Next time you go to the movies, you will find more Jujyfruits and other Ferrara candies in the opaque boxes that you purchase there! Thomas Iglesias alleged that he purchased a five-ounce box of Jujyfruits in a movie theater in San Francisco, CA in 2016, but that he did not get the amount of candy he expected. Rather, Iglesias asserted that there was a considerable amount of slack-fill in the opaque box of candy. He filed a class action lawsuit in California federal court against candy manufacturer Ferrara Candy Co. on Feb. 21, 2017, alleging that it intentionally and deceptively underfilled his box of Jujyfruits. The class action was on behalf of purchasers of Ferrara’s multiple varieties of candies, including Now and Later, Jawbreakers, Atomic Fireballs, and Lemonhead which came in an opaque box.

Iglesias asserted that the boxes of Jujyfruits were uniformly underfilled by 41%, such that only 59% of the box was filled with the candy. Although initially denying that the products were misleading and that they contained nonfunctional slack-fill, Ferrara and Iglesias eventually reached a settlement in March 2018 after undergoing two rounds at mediation and ongoing negotiations.

The settlement provided for Ferrara to pay $2.5 million to the nationwide class of purchasers, each of whom was entitled to obtain a cash refund of 50 cents per box purchased. Additionally, Ferrara agreed to modify its fill level to at least 75% for theater box products, and at least 50% for bag-in-a-box products.

Lexis Advanced subscribers can read about the case at:  2018 Jury Verdicts LEXIS 11229

Author:  Sheri Steinmetz, Lexis-Nexis Case Law Editor

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