Starkist faces new civil lawsuit concerning "dolphin-safe" canned tuna products
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — StarKist Co., is facing a new civil lawsuit, and this time, a “class action complaint” filed at the federal court in San Francisco, alleging — among other things — that the company violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and misled consumers that its canned tuna products are “dolphin-safe”.
“RICO co-conspirator StarKist Samoa and its employees — among other third party importers and employees unknown to Plaintiffs — imported defendant’s tuna products for sale, knowing that defendant would market and sell its tuna products to plaintiffs and the Class [Action] as dolphin-safe, sustainably sourced, and compliant with federal laws and regulations,” the 87-page complaint alleges.
Filed early this week by 16 US consumers, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, the complaint outlined in detail eleven specific alleged violations of federal and state laws (in the US) by StarKist, which is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with facilities in American Samoa and Ecuador.
Since 1990, StarKist, which is today the #1 seller of prepackaged tuna brand in the US, had promised consumers that its tuna is “Dolphin- Safe”, the complaint states.
Read more: http://www.samoanews.com/local-news/update-starkist-faces-new-civil-lawsuit-concerning-dolphin-safe-canned-tuna-products