Ang v. Whitewave Foods Co., No. 13-cv-1953, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173185 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 10, 2013)

(plaintiffs filed a putative class action against defendant food companies, alleging that defendants misbranded their products containing evaporated cane juice (ECJ), including soymilk, almond milk, and yogurt products; on defendants’ motion to dismiss, the court found that plaintiffs’ ECJ and yogurt claims were barred by res judicata because plaintiffs were class members in a Florida action, Singer v. WW Operating Co., No. 13-cv-2132 (S.D. Fla. 2013), in which a Florida district court approved a class settlement; the court ruled that plaintiffs’ claims (alleging that the terms “soymilk” and “almond milk” were misleading to customers) were preempted by the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act because plaintiffs were attempting to impose new requirements concerning the “standard of identity” for milk; the court also found that plaintiffs’ claims were implausible as a matter of law because a reasonable consumer would not confuse “soymilk” or “almond milk” with dairy milk).