PITTSBURGH – A man is suing McCormick over claims of unfair trade practices, alleging that they have been selling less product than advertised.
Hubert L. Gerstnecker filed a class-action lawsuit Dec. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against McCormick & Co. Inc., alleging unfair trade practices.
Gerstnecker, a consumer of McCormick's products, is alleging that in 2015, the company began to decrease its quantity of black pepper sold in its tins while maintaining the same size tin. This action was deceiving as it continued to advertise the product as the larger quantity while in reality the product was 25 percent less than the container's capacity, the complaint states. This practice is known as "slack filling" and is in direct contradiction of trade practices, he alleges. Gerstnecker and multiple other individuals are suing the company for this allegedly unfair action and overall illegal practices.
Gerstnecker is seeking compensation for legal fees and rectification of this misleading advertising. He is represented by Edward J. Kilpela Jr. of Carlson, Lynch, Sweet and Kilpela LLP in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:15-CV-01671