Despite the 2016 dismissal of federal human rights cases against food companies in California, a similar class action suit has been filed in Massachusetts federal court — and it’s one that companies in the sector should be watching closely.

Understanding the Plaintiffs’ Case — Alleged Sins of Omission

The case, Tomasella v. Hershey Co., was filed on Feb. 26, 2018, and alleges human rights violations associated with cocoa farming and processing. The complaint is premised on a theory of unjust enrichment in violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law. Specifically, the complaint says that the defendants, by failing to disclose trafficked and child labor in their supply chains — and in fact asserting in their disclosures that they had “zero tolerance” for such activities — caused consumers to purchase their products when they never would have done so had they known about the purported trafficked and child labor taint in the products’ supply chains.

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