Callahan & Blaine recently filed a class action lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against some of California’s largest distributors and retailers of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The defendants are olive oil manufacturers, distributors and retailers who sell their product in the state of California and have been knowingly misleading and defrauding California consumers for years. Defendants have been claiming the olive oil they sell meets the high standard of the “extra virgin” classification, allowing them to charge a hefty premium for the product, when in fact the product is of inferior quality – often adulterated with cheaper oils.
These blatant misrepresentations have been proven false in a comprehensive study by the UC Davis Olive Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at the University of California, Davis in its comprehensive July 2010 Report. The report is authored by the leading Ph.D.’s, researchers and scientists in the nation on edible oil research and education. Cooperating and contributing to the funding, research and findings in this study were the California Olive Oil Council, the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) and the Australian Olive Oil Association.
The result of this comprehensive study is that 69% of imported olive oil and 10% of California olive oil failed to meet the IOC/USDA standards. These samples were found to be adulterated, and/or of poor quality mixed with cheaper refined oils.
The plaintiffs’ class for this case is represented by attorney Daniel J. Callahan. Mr. Callahan is best known for a $934 million verdict that involved public health and safety issues in which Callahan represented medical product manufacturer Beckman Coulter.
Stay tuned to the media and this blog for more information on this emerging case as it becomes available.
The case number is 30-2010-00395464-CU-FR-CXC, filed in Orange County Superior Court.