The strawberry Pop Tart case is just one of more than 400 lawsuits he has filed

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In recent years, New York-based attorney Spencer Sheehan has filed more than 400 lawsuits targeting products in almost every aisle of the grocery store over misleading claims on advertising and packaging.





Spencer Sheehan



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Spencer Sheehan





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If the flavor on the label doesn’t match the ingredient list, that may lead to a lawsuit.





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Andrew Burton/Getty Images





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How much lime is in a hint of lime?





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In the strawberry Pop Tart case, the Kellogg Company, the maker of Pop Tarts, has asked the judge to dismiss the case, citing several of Sheehan’s other, unsuccessful suits.

«Kellogg’s reference to one ingredient (strawberries) on the labeling of Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts does not plausibly suggest that strawberries are the only fruit in the product or imply that they are present in a greater amount than they are,» the company’s lawyers wrote.

The judge has not yet ruled on that motion. Lawyers representing Kellogg did not return a request for comment.


He says his goal isn’t money. But these suits are lucrative


Sheehan says that his goal with the Pop Tart case, and all his others, isn’t money — but rather, he wants companies to market their products honestly.

«When something is regulated, there should be less space for [companies] to walk around and try to weasel around,» Sheehan said. «Hopefully they fix their labeling [to] truthfully represent what’s in the product.»

However, winning or settling even a small percentage of cases can be lucrative.

Most of Sheehan’s suits, including the strawberry Pop Tart cases, allege damages based on the so-called «price premium theory,» which claims that products were sold at higher prices than they would have otherwise commanded had the companies marketed them honestly.





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What does real milk on the label promise?





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«To whir up the machinery of a litigation department is expensive and time-consuming for the company,» said Tobin. «For many cases, a nuisance kind of settlement might be advantageous compared to more extensive litigation costs.»

If Sheehan’s goal is truly to change company practice, Patten says, class-action suits are not the most effective strategy — either judges dismiss the cases, or companies reach settlement agreements.

«A lot of time with these class-actions, they settle and put a lot of money into the pockets of plaintiffs’ attorneys. And in the end, defendants get great settlement agreements that protect them from future deceptive marketing claims,» she said.



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When asked about his most successful case, Sheehan points not to any settlement, but instead to a case against the makers of A&W root beer.

In that case, Sheehan sued over the claim that A&W’s root beer and cream soda are «made with aged vanilla.» In fact, the sodas are made with a synthetic vanilla flavoring. (The company has since dropped the claim from its labels and cans, according to court documents.)

And, as of July, it is his first case in which the judge certified the class – an important step in any class-action lawsuit that allows the suit to proceed to discovery, and potentially, a trial.