Montera v. Premier Nutrition Corporation

Background

Mary Beth Montera brought the case for New York consumers who purchased Joint Juice, a beverage containing glucosamine and chondroitin that Premier Nutrition marketed as providing joint-health benefits. The case proceeded as a certified class action and was tried before a jury.

The jury found Premier liable under New York General Business Law (GBL) § 349 for deceptive acts and practices and § 350 for deceptive or misleading advertising. It found that Premier sold 166,249 units in New York during the class period and awarded Montera and the class $1,488,078.49 in actual damages, representing full refunds for the Joint Juice purchases.

Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

Premier moved for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50. That motion asks the court to enter judgment because a reasonable jury lacked a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for the opposing party’s position. The court denied the motion, finding that the jury’s verdict on both GBL claims was supported by ample evidence.

Statutory Damages

Montera requested statutory damages calculated per unit sold: $50 per unit under GBL § 349 and $500 per unit under GBL § 350, for a total requested award of $91,436,950. The court had previously ruled that New York law allowed statutory damages on a per-unit basis because each purchase could constitute a separate violation.

The court held, however, that the requested aggregate award was so severe and oppressive compared with the offense that it was obviously unreasonable and violated due process. The court considered the repeated marketing of Joint Juice, evidence that Premier continued promoting the product despite studies questioning its benefits, and the economic nature of the harm. It also considered that the requested award exceeded the actual damages by more than sixty times and that New York law generally barred class actions seeking statutory damages in New York state court, even though the class action could proceed in federal court under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

The court reduced the statutory-damages award to $8,312,450, which represented $50 per unit sold under GBL § 349. The court noted that it did not need to address Premier’s arguments about double recovery under both statutes because this award was equivalent to the amount available under one of them.

Prejudgment Interest

Premier argued that New York law did not permit prejudgment interest on statutory damages. The court rejected that argument. It ruled that New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 5001 allows interest for damages caused by conduct interfering with property interests and that interest may apply to damages beyond actual or compensatory damages.

The court also ruled that interest should begin when each class member’s claim accrued, generally at the time of purchase, rather than at the end of the class period. It awarded $4,583,004.90 in prejudgment interest based on the damages expert’s methodology.

Motion to Decertify the Class

Premier moved to decertify the class. Decertification removes the case from class-action treatment. The court rejected Premier’s arguments concerning causation and damages because they repeated arguments the court had previously rejected and because trial evidence supported resolving those issues on a class-wide basis.

The court also rejected Premier’s new argument that an individual lawsuit was superior because statutory damages could reach thousands of dollars per class member. The court found that pursuing an individual claim would still require significant scientific evidence and expert testimony, making the class action a superior method of resolving the controversy. The court therefore denied the motion to decertify.

Disposition

The court granted Montera’s motion for entry of final judgment. It awarded Montera and the class $8,312,450 in statutory damages and $4,583,004.90 in prejudgment interest. It denied Premier’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and denied Premier’s motion to decertify the class.