Sidley Secures Landmark Victory Rejecting Industry-Wide Liability in First-of-Its-Kind Ultra-Processed Foods Litigation

Sidley represented Kraft Heinz in securing another significant victory in the groundbreaking product liability action against 11 major food companies challenging the manufacturing and marketing of so-called “ultra-processed foods” (UPFs).

This was the first personal injury suit of its kind in the United States, filed initially in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County (removed to federal court in E.D.P.A.), alleging that the nation’s largest food and beverage manufacturers were responsible for the plaintiff’s Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease because they allegedly developed, manufactured, and marketed “hyper-palatable,” unhealthy products that the plaintiff consumed. Following the Court’s earlier dismissal of the complaint, the Court denied the plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend, concluding that the proposed amended complaint still failed to cure the fundamental deficiencies in the plaintiff’s claims.

The Court held that a plaintiff cannot hold an entire industry liable based on generalized allegations concerning ultra-processed foods. Instead, it found that the plaintiff failed to establish but-for causation because the complaint did not plausibly allege how any individual defendant or product specifically caused or contributed to the plaintiff’s injuries. The Court further rejected the plaintiff’s attempts to rely on alternative liability and market share liability, concluding those theories were unavailable because the products at issue were not identical or fungible. 

Although this is an important win for food and beverage defendants, the ruling reiterates fundamental principles that apply across industries: plaintiffs alleging injuries must establish product-specific causation rather than rely on broad, industry-wide allegations. As a result, the ruling is likely to have significant implications across the product-liability spectrum, particularly in cases where a plaintiff alleges that a product or combination of products caused a multi-factorial disease.

The Sidley team representing Kraft Heinz is led by Michelle Ramirez, Heidi Levine, Alan Rothman, Morgan Branch, and Christopher Eiswerth, along with Jennifer Saulino, Adriane Peralta, Julie Becker, Robin Rivaux, Regan Hawkins, and Barbara Nihill.