Bursor & Fisher Defeats Summary Judgment Motion In Olive Oil Lawsuit

On February 25, 2014, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment in Ebin v. Kangadis Food, Inc. d/b/a The Gourmet Factory, clearing the way for a jury trial later this year on claims that Kangadis packed containers of Capatriti “100% Pure Olive Oil” with an industrially processed substance known as pomace oil, instead of pure olive oil. Judge Rakoff had previously granted the plaintiffs’ motion to certify a nationwide class to appoint Bursor & Fisher, P.A. as Class Counsel. More than $80 million in sales were made to the nationwide class.

“This summary judgment order is a huge victory for millions of purchasers who were defrauded by Kangadis’s admitted practice of filling these tins with low-quality pomace oil instead of 100% pure olive oil,” said Scott A. Bursor, one of the firm’s partners handling the matter. “This product contained zero percent olive oil. We will prove that at trial in 2014, and we will seek a full refund for every member of the class.”