New York Federal Court Dismisses Suit Alleging High-Fructose Corn Syrup Is a Toxic, Unsafe Substance
Earlier today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York dismissed a case against five manufacturers of high-fructose corn syrup alleging the substance was toxic, unsafe, and was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff to develop Type 2 diabetes. Accepting the plaintiff’s allegations as true for the purposes of deciding the defendants’ motion to dismiss, the court concluded that the plaintiff had not met the pleading standard, finding it unlikely that the plaintiff could show that her consumption of specific foods (and specifically the high-fructose corn syrup within them) caused her disease. The court, however, based its dismissal of the plaintiff’s Complaint on the fact that New York law does not allow recovery under a market-share theory in this case, the premise of her claims for negligence, strict liability, and failure to warn. The Complaint contained only undifferentiated allegations against the defendants as a group without identifying any wrongdoing on the part of any particular defendant manufacturer.
