Oregon Supreme Court greenlights class action lawsuit against Tillamook County Creamery

The Oregon Supreme Court recently made a pivotal decision to allow a class action lawsuit against Tillamook County Creamery Association to proceed, following allegations of false advertising. The lawsuit, initiated by the Animal Legal Defense Fund in 2019 on behalf of four Oregon residents and other consumers, claims that Tillamook’s advertising is misleading as it suggests that their products originate from cows grazing on farms in Tillamook County when in reality, a significant portion of them are sourced from large factory farms in Boardman.

After the Multnomah County Circuit Court and Oregon Court of Appeals dismissed the case, the Oregon Supreme Court reversed their decisions and granted permission for the lawsuit to proceed. The lower courts had initially ruled against allowing the case to proceed as a class action lawsuit, citing the plaintiffs’ inability to demonstrate that consumers specifically chose Tillamook’s higher-priced products over cheaper alternatives based on the marketing claims made by the company.

However, the Oregon Supreme Court emphasized that the allegations against Tillamook are not solely dependent on whether consumers directly relied on the company’s advertisements. The court acknowledged that even if some consumers were not deceived by Tillamook’s marketing tactics, it does not automatically negate the possibility that they suffered economic losses due to the brand’s purported premium pricing strategy.

In response to the lawsuit, Tillamook County Creamery Association reiterated that they have always been transparent about the origins of their products, underscoring that not all of their offerings are exclusively produced in Tillamook County. The dairy company maintains that all their business partners uphold high animal welfare standards, including Threemile Canyon Farms in Eastern Oregon, a supplier mentioned in the initial complaint.

TCCA further emphasized that more than 90% of their cheese production takes place in Tillamook or Boardman. The company dismissed the lawsuit as an unfounded attack orchestrated by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and anti-dairy activists striving to eliminate dairy consumption entirely, a move that would adversely impact Oregon’s dairy industry and farming families associated with the cooperative.

While the legal battle between Tillamook County Creamery Association and the Animal Legal Defense Fund continues to unfold, the Oregon Supreme Court’s decision marks a significant turning point in the proceedings, allowing the class action lawsuit to move forward and potentially shed light on the veracity of the allegations against one of Oregon’s prominent dairy brands.