Latest Case This Week: Leining v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc. (Cal. Ct. App.)

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Leining v. Foster Poultry Farms, Inc.

Court: California Courts of Appeal

Docket: B291600(Second Appellate District)

Opinion Date: February 23, 2021

Judge: Laurence D. Rubin

Areas of Law: Agriculture Law, Animal / Dog Law, Constitutional Law

Plaintiff filed suit against Foster Farms for its allegedly misleading labels and against American Humane for its allegedly negligent certification. The Court of Appeal concluded that it need not decide whether there are triable issues of fact that would defeat summary judgment. Rather, the court concluded that plaintiff has not pleaded a viable cause of action against either defendant. The court concluded that plaintiff's claims against Foster Farms are barred by federal preemption. In this case, plaintiff's direct causes of action against Foster Farms is based on the premise that its labels' inclusion of the American Humane Certified logo was itself misleading, because the chicken was not treated in a manner that an objectively reasonable consumer would consider humane. The court concluded that these causes of action are barred by the doctrine of federal preemption, based on the express preemption clause of the Poultry and Poultry Products Inspection Act. The court also concluded that the negligent certification claim against American Humane is not viable in the absence of physical injury.