His prolificacy has almost single-handedly caused a historic spike in the number of class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies - up more than 1000% since 2008 - in an effort that has vexed food companies and won respect from consumer advocacy groups. In recent years, Sheehan has filed more than 400 lawsuits targeting products in almost every aisle of the grocery store, all alleging that corporations are misleading consumers with claims on advertising and packaging that, Sheehan says, don’t hold up to scrutiny. These suits and scores of others were all filed by the same lawyer, a New York-based plaintiffs’ attorney named Spencer Sheehan. This week, it was strawberry Pop Tarts - with a lawsuit claiming damages over Kellogg’s “deceptive” marketing of its pastries that contain just as much apple and pear as strawberry.īefore that, there were the fudge lawsuits, with their claims against Keebler and Betty Crocker and others over “fudge” cookies and baking mixes that contained no milkfat.Īnd of course, the 120 or so vanilla lawsuits, each alleging that consumers have been duped by companies marketing “vanilla” products that contain little to no actual vanilla bean.
