On June 12, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Ninth Circuit, holding that POM Wonderful LLC's false advertising claim against the Coca-Cola Company for misleading advertising was not barred. POM challenged Coca-Cola's labeling for its "Pomegranate-blueberry blended juice," which contained more than 99 percent apple and grape juices. Coca-Cola responded that the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 and implementing regulations, with which the labeling fully complied, override the Lanham Act, the federal false advertising law. The Ninth Circuit agreed with Coca-Cola, ruling that the more specific regulations governing food labels precluded this sort of false advertising claim. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the Lanham Act and the food labeling regulations coexist because there is no explicit restriction "in either statute [that] discloses a purpose to bar unfair competition claims like POM's." The opinion, authored by Justice Kennedy, also unanimously rejected the federal government's amicus argument that there should be a safe harbor for label statements that are specifically authorized by FDA regulations. Although the Court did not decide whether the label was actually misleading, the Court expressed concern that consumers in general do not receive adequate protection from false advertising. The Court also stated that competitors are better situated than government agencies to call attention to the kinds of deceptive marketing practices alleged in this case. Coca-Cola says it will continue to fight POM's accusation as the case goes to trial.
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