Nutella Gets Spanked in Class-Action Suit

Toddrific

Meh I polled people at my office (most of whom don't eat it) and most thought it was healthy. It is marketed in parenting magazines as being healthy and a good way to get nuts into your children's diets.

Not everyone is fanatical and obsessive about reading labels.

TootsieRolls

The greedy ones are the lawyers. According to the article, the lawyers in this case will get about $1 million. But that's a key component of any class-action settlement. Yes, there's a fund for the class, but each class member usually gets just a few dollars. The lawyers, on the other hand, get rich. That's what makes these cases disgusting, if you ask me. :grumble:

I think the lawyers get about 30% from the settlement or $750,000 BUT they also get attorney's fees from the Nutella people. I believe I read that those are up to $3 million. All in all they are going to make more than the class of "injured" people.

Like neoterrar said, I think many average people DO think Nutella is a healthier option for their familiies. This forum is a bit biased since we're a group of people trying to be healthy - and what comes with that is reading labels.

Imagine yourself as an average person who has never counted a calorie and sits down and sees a Nutella commercial. The commercial is tricky - It says "With a balanced breakfast AND Nutella . . . " your kid can be awesome. They are making it seem like Nutella is PART of the balanced breakfast. It might as well say, "With a balanced breakfast AND crack" you can do anything.

angiechimpanzee

I love how in America, you don't need to have any sense of personal responsibility for yourself or your child. You're allowed to be some brainless moron who walks around just thinking what you're told by the commercials and not acting like an adult who's in charge of their own actions. And then, when your idiocy leads you make stupid decisions, you are allowed to blame others for your stupid decisions. Because hey, that's what it's all about.

And people wonder why America is going only downhill these days.

Oh my goodness, I agree with this completely. Some Americans are just complete idiots with no sense of responsibility whatsoever.

helenoftroy1

personally think she shouldn't be allowed to have kids if this is her stupidty rating or cunningness level!

helenoftroy1

Well, you could see this one coming a mile away. Someone sued the company that makes Nutella, claiming that the company's advertising misled her into thinking the stuff was "healthy." Really? :noway:

Anyway, the company just settled the case for $3.5 million. You can read about it here: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/today-food-finance-nutella-not-broccoli-162956191.html

Companies often settle things like this out of court to avoid the legal expenses and bad press the suit would generate. Granted, this is plain stupid. About as stupid as the woman who successfully sued McDonald's many years ago because her hot coffee was to hot (when she pulled from the drive thru and dumped it on her lap). That suit is why every disposable coffee cup in the US has some form of "warning, hot coffee is HOT" on it.

If you saw pictures of that women's injuries, I don't think you'd say her case was stupid.

but what did she expect??? You have got to take some responsibility for your actions and buying hot coffee and not expecting it to be hot is silly. Eating tubs of nutella and getting fat and then blaming nutella is silly. People are too quick to blame others and need to accept responsibility. Especially if kids are involved (like said Nutella case).

TripleJ3

I am seriously pissed that I don't think that way and didn't do that myself. 3.5 million? That is insane.....

groomchick

Talk about passing the buck! Does no one take resposability for themselves anymore?

Leamac83

Thats so typical!

A fat person got fat by stuffing their face with chocolate but it cant be their fault oh no... they have to blame someone else so lets blame nutella.

People like that make me so mad, they need to stop shovelling nutella into their mouth, read the label and perhaps go a walk.

MrsR0SE

I first tried Nutella as a young child when it used to be sold in a tiny tablespoon-sized tub from a sweet shop. Even then I knew it wasn't healthy! Nothing to do with my adult knowledge of calories or experience of being overweight. It has chocolate in it. It is very sweet. Of course it's not a health food! I've not seen the advert mentioned though - has it been shown in the UK or just the US?

BlueInkDot

hahahahaha. Read the nutrition facts, dummy. Sheesh. That's hilarious.

ChaseAlder

I can't believe the company gave her that much money! All the company had to do was say "All the nutritional information is readily available on the side of the jar, and each ingredient can be easily researched online if there are any questions about what it is or how good it is for you."

If I were the CEO of Nutella, I would have told that yatch to suck it.

jnhu72

Sometimes, I wish I were stupid and delusional enough to be one of those people who sue companies for **** that I do to myself. ("Oh no! How do I have Type II diabetes? I don't know how it happened; I just kept eating this Nutella STRAIGHT OUT OF THE JAR.") Because then, I could be insanely wealthy instead of responsible.

I was just thinking the same thing!

peacefulsong

I really don't think you should have to be a person who is interested in health and nutrition to understand that a jar full of chocolate is probably not super healthy. It's chocolate, come on. I love the stuff and think it's fine if you can manage (somehow, by some superhuman willpower of which I am not possessed) to eat a little now and then instead of a whole jar (which, of course, I've never ever done. nope). But you're in denial if you think it's healthy stuff.

Athijade

Well, you could see this one coming a mile away. Someone sued the company that makes Nutella, claiming that the company's advertising misled her into thinking the stuff was "healthy." Really? :noway:

Anyway, the company just settled the case for $3.5 million. You can read about it here: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/today-food-finance-nutella-not-broccoli-162956191.html

Companies often settle things like this out of court to avoid the legal expenses and bad press the suit would generate. Granted, this is plain stupid. About as stupid as the woman who successfully sued McDonald's many years ago because her hot coffee was to hot (when she pulled from the drive thru and dumped it on her lap). That suit is why every disposable coffee cup in the US has some form of "warning, hot coffee is HOT" on it.

If you saw pictures of that women's injuries, I don't think you'd say her case was stupid.

but what did she expect??? You have got to take some responsibility for your actions and buying hot coffee and not expecting it to be hot is silly. Eating tubs of nutella and getting fat and then blaming nutella is silly. People are too quick to blame others and need to accept responsibility. Especially if kids are involved (like said Nutella case).

Do some real research on the McDonald's case. The reason they were sued and LOST was due to food safety issues. The coffee was being held at a temperature that was NOT considered safe. It was being held too hot for human consumption. There are laws put in place about these things for safety reasons. The woman sustained third degree burns. She tried to settle for a small amount of money to cover medical expenses, but McDonald's refused. That is why it went to court.

I once thought it was a silly lawsuit, until I actually did a case study on it. McDonald's screwed up horribly. The injuries would not have happened if McDonald's had not been negligent.

ZugTheMegasaurus

The greedy ones are the lawyers. According to the article, the lawyers in this case will get about $1 million. But that's a key component of any class-action settlement. Yes, there's a fund for the class, but each class member usually gets just a few dollars. The lawyers, on the other hand, get rich. That's what makes these cases disgusting, if you ask me. :grumble:

I think the lawyers get about 30% from the settlement or $750,000 BUT they also get attorney's fees from the Nutella people. I believe I read that those are up to $3 million. All in all they are going to make more than the class of "injured" people.

I think you guys are giving lawyers a bad rap here. The whole point of class actions is that no one plaintiff is hurt badly enough to be able to sue on their own, but collectively, there's enough damage the company has to pay up. It's more about making sure the company pays the consequences for doing something wrong than making their customers rich. Without the class action, there's no punishment for doing something wrong and the company gets off scot-free even when it's doing something it shouldn't.

Like neoterrar said, I think many average people DO think Nutella is a healthier option for their familiies. This forum is a bit biased since we're a group of people trying to be healthy - and what comes with that is reading labels.

Imagine yourself as an average person who has never counted a calorie and sits down and sees a Nutella commercial. The commercial is tricky - It says "With a balanced breakfast AND Nutella . . . " your kid can be awesome. They are making it seem like Nutella is PART of the balanced breakfast. It might as well say, "With a balanced breakfast AND crack" you can do anything.

Agreed. Reminds me of an old Calvin and Hobbes comic where Calvin is eating "Cocoa Frosted Sugar Bombs" and defends it by saying it's "part of a balanced breakfast." Hobbes looks at the picture on the box and says, "But they show the guy eating three bran muffins, half a dozen grapefruits..."

tropaze

Here's a link to the advertisement I've seen on TV here in the US. I noticed she didn't say it was healthy, but a way to get her children to eat multi-grain toast or waffles. I've had Nutella for years, when I lived in the UK it was everywhere and we had it as children. I knew what it was when it started showing up here, but I also knew it wasn't a "health" food. It's kinda like salads, people assume it's healthy because of . . . (you pick a reason).

http://youtu.be/ThIrw_LpuRA

nray3119

What an idiot. However I will freely admit I used to eat it out of the container while I was pregnant. Maybe I should sue my kids for making me overweight lol.

femmi1120

I'm sorry, but people really need to learn to take responsibility for what they eat. It's not that hard to read an ingredient label, where it clearly states the #1 ingredient is SUGAR.

nray3119

What an idiot. However I will freely admit I used to eat it out of the container while I was pregnant. Maybe I should sue my kids for making me overweight lol.

tiggersstar

First time I saw that advert I said what a load of bollocks! But they still play that advert in the UK.

I love nutella, but I am not dumb enough to think it’s healthy. If you are dumb enough to believe everything you see on TV, then it’s your own fault you are fat. If I was nutella I wouldn’t give you a penny!

:laugh: