Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Hormel
Public Justice, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and the Richman Law Group filed a joint lawsuit in the District of Columbia Superior Court against Hormel Foods, alleging the company is misleading consumers through the advertising of its Natural Choice® brand of lunch meats and bacon. Contrary to Hormel’s branding campaign, the suit alleges, meats the company advertises as “natural” actually comes from animals raised in the worst factory farms that employ additives, hormones and antibiotics, and contain ingredients that constitute artificial preservatives.
With the slogan “Make the Natural Choice®” and repeated claims that its Natural Choice® products are “100% Natural” and “All-Natural,” Hormel Foods has run a wide-ranging advertising campaign that takes advantage of consumers’ beliefs that “natural” meat comes from animals raised in a specific, sustainable way. According to a 2015 Consumer Reports survey, half of consumers believe the “natural” designation means animals were raised outdoors. Hormel’s Natural Choice® products, in contrast, are not from more humane or more natural farms, but come from the same industrialized factory farms as any of Hormel’s other products.
Trial Briefs
- Complaint (Hormel) (BriefComplaint)
- Plaintiff's Opposition to Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (Hormel) (BriefMisc. MotionsMotion to Dismiss)
- Order Denying Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (Hormel) (Court OrderMotion to Dismiss)
- Supplemental Authority in Support of Opposition to Hormel's Motion to Dismiss (Hormel) (BriefMotion to Dismiss)
- Plaintiff's Opposed Motion to Compel Discovery (Hormel) (BriefDiscoveryMisc. Motions)
- Order Granting Motion to Compel Discovery (Hormel) (Court OrderDiscovery)
- Plaintiff's Redacted Motion for Summary Judgment (Hormel) (BriefMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Redacted Statement of Fact in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (Hormel) ()
- Redacted Motion for Spoliation Sanctions (Hormel) (BriefMisc. Motions)
- Plaintiff's Redacted Opposition to Hormel's Opposed Motion for Summary Judgment (Hormel) (BriefMisc. MotionsMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Plaintiff's Redacted Reply in Support of its Motion for Spoliation Sanctions (Hormel) (BriefMisc. Motions)
- Plaintiff's Reply in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment (Hormel) (BriefMotion for Summary Judgment)
- Order Granting Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Hormel) (Court Order)
Appellate Briefs
- Appellant Opening Brief (Hormel) (AppealBrief)
- Reply Brief for Appellant (Hormel) (Brief)
- D.C. Court of Appeals opinion reversing and remanding (Hormel) (Court OpinionCourt Order)