After a two year legal battle the pet food companies have reached an agreement.
From Petfood Industry:
On November 3, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company and Blue Buffalo Company, Ltd. announced that they have reached a mutually agreeable settlement of the lawsuits pending between them, related to 2014 false advertising of pet food claims. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
As a result of the settlement agreement, Blue Buffalo and Nestlé Purina have asked the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to dismiss the claims between the two parties and Purina's agencies with prejudice. Blue Buffalo will continue to prosecute its legal claims against the remaining parties.
Continuing law suits against suppliers
To recoup some of the settlement funds, Blue Buffalo then filed lawsuits against the pet food ingredient broker and supplier involved in the false advertising of pet food case.
On September 27, US District Judge Rodney W. Sippel upheld claims against Diversified Ingredients Inc., the broker that allegedly sold ingredients adulterated with poultry by-product meal to Blue Buffalo, reported Law 360. However, the judge reduced some of the claims to compensation made against the broker by Wilber-Ellis Co., the ingredient supplier involved in a false advertising lawsuit against Blue Buffalo.
While the pandemic caused unprecedented suffering worldwide in 2020, the disruptions to dogs, cats and other pets adoption numbers may normalize in 2021.
