#BUSINESS NEWS OCTOBER 10, 2017 / 9:52 AM / UPDATED 37 MINUTES AGO

U.S. top court lets Conagra cooking oil class action proceed

Andrew Chung
3 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear a bid by Conagra Brands Inc (CAG.N) to escape a class-action lawsuit accusing it of falsely labeling its cooking oil as 100 percent natural even though it had genetically modified ingredients.

Conagra had asked to the justices to hear its appeal of a lower court ruling allowing the suit to proceed despite difficulties in determining who should be included and excluded in the litigation, a problem often encountered in disputes over low-cost products.

In 2015, a federal judge in California let purchasers of Wesson brand oil in 11 U.S. states proceed with their claims in a consolidated case, rejecting Conagra’s argument that there was no reliable way to identify those who had bought the oil over the last decade. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld that ruling in January, and the company appealed to the Supreme Court.

The purchasers, including lead plaintiff Robert Briseno, a California resident who sued Conagra in 2011, allege the Chicago-based packaged food maker used deceptive labeling dating back to 2007, calling the cooking oil “100% Natural” despite its GMO content, banking on consumers’ willingness to pay more for natural products.

-snip-