The Real Reason An Ice Cream Fan Sued Turkey Hill
Major food brands are certainly not immune to customers filing lawsuits. With millions consuming these companies' products, it's inevitable. Think back to the time a McDonald's customer sued for their extremely hot coffee — it ultimately led to a multi-million dollar settlement.
Some food and beverage lawsuits are major, such as when Nutella paid more than $3 million to settle a suit based on whether their spread was considered healthy (spoiler alert: it's not) or when Chipotle was accused of giving food poisoning to hundreds of consumers, per So Yummy.
However, other lawsuits fly under the radar, possibly because the plaintiff is requesting so little or because the reasoning is so bizarre. In one situation, a couple sued Burger King for less than $20. And in another circumstance, a Turkey Hill consumer filed a lawsuit against the ice cream manufacturer for claiming their vanilla ice cream was deceptive in its vanilla content.
A Turkey Hill consumer sued the ice cream brand
Back in 2019, Patch reported that a man named Russell Kane filed a class-action lawsuit against Turkey Hill, where he alleged that the ice cream company falsely advertised vanilla in its products. Kane sought a whopping $5 million from the company; he said the amount of vanilla used in their product was misrepresented in comparison with all of the other flavors used in developing the ice cream. The suit was filed alongside a Jane Doe; the second plaintiff's identity was not revealed.
The suit seemed to essentially point to the idea that Turkey Hill had misled its consumers by choosing to "misrepresent the exclusive flavor source," per Patch. In its easiest terms, the suit said there wasn't enough real vanilla in the ice cream, which was deceptive to consumers. It's unclear whether Kane won any money in the case.
Surprisingly, Turkey Hill isn't the only company to ever be sued over its vanilla content. According to NPR, A&W Root Beer was also sued over the ingredient after one lawyer claimed there was very little real vanilla in the product.