A 10-year-old Proposition 65 lawsuit has been dismissed after a judge found the defendant coffee companies had proved that acrylamide, which is found in coffee after roasting and brewing, doesn’t increase cancer risks.
In Council for Education and Research on Toxics v. Starbucks Corp. et al, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle on Aug. 26 ruled the defense had met its burden in its motion for summary judgment; it was formulated on a newly issued rule from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the lead agency that oversees implementation of Proposition 65.
The regulation, “Exposures to Listed Chemicals in Coffee Posing No Significant Risk,” went into effect Oct. 1, 2019.
The OEHHA also is considering further Proposition 65 amendments, which civil justice and business groups hope will curb excessive legal action for alleged violations.
“The ruling will protect business owners from onerous litigation and huge settlements that cost jobs and raise prices,” Maryann Marino, regional director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), told the Northern California Record by email. “When businesses are sued, they often times have to pass the cost of litigation onto the consumer, making products more expensive.”
Jobs are lost because businesses must spend money on legal fees and case settlements rather than new hires, Marino added.
A 2018 report by the Center for Accountability in Science showed that between 2010 and 2017, businesses nationwide paid $182 million to settle Proposition 65 lawsuits, not including the cases that went to trial.
The California Attorney General’s office, which enforces Proposition 65 cases, also maintains a list of recent settlement reports.
As businesses struggle to maintain operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the court decision will provide a measure of certainty and, in turn, help with California’s economic recovery, Marino said.
“The ruling allows businesses to stay open and for employees to keep working.”
The California Chamber of Commerce also has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Xavier Becerra over the many Proposition 65 warnings for acrylamide in food and beverages.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller of the Eastern District of California ruled the case can go forward.
The plaintiff in the coffee case, the Council for Education and Research on Toxics, has joined that litigation as an intervenor defendant.