Mighty Earth v. JBS USA Food Co.

The federal district court for the District of Columbia remanded to D.C. Superior Court the nonprofit organization Mighty Earth’s greenwashing lawsuit against the meat producer JBS USA Food Company and JBS USA Food Company Holdings (JBS USA). Mighty Earth alleged, among other things, that JBS USA misrepresented its products’ sustainability by advertising a net zero emissions by 2040 goal “without the intention or capability” of achieving the goal. Both JBS USA and Mighty Earth agreed that Mighty Earth lacked Article III standing, but Mighty Earth asserted that it had standing to bring the case in D.C. courts under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which authorizes public interest organizations to bring claims on behalf of consumers. JBS USA, which removed the case on diversity jurisdiction grounds, argued that the federal court should dismiss the case for lack of standing. The federal court concluded that it was bound by rulings holding that Article III standing was unnecessary when a case such as this is brought in D.C. court. Because it could not exercise jurisdiction over Mighty Earth’s claims and because the D.C. Superior Court could, the federal district court remanded the action.

Mighty Earth, a not-for-profit organization, filed a lawsuit on behalf of District of Columbia consumers against the beef producer JBS USA Food Company and JBS USA Food Company Holdings (JBS USA) alleging that JBS USA violated the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) by making false and misleading misrepresentations that it can achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and making material omissions about its operations’ environmental harms. Mighty Earth alleged that JBS USA and its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates (together, JBS Group) are the world’s largest producer of animal protein and the fifth largest emitter of methane, and that industrialized beef production “is responsible for more [greenhouse gas] emissions than any other major food product, largely due to the natural digestive process in cows that produces methane as a byproduct which is then belched out and released into the atmosphere, known as enteric fermentation, and land use changes such as deforestation.” The complaint alleged that the defendants knowingly misrepresent their greenhouse gas emissions to consumers by only targeting reductions in the 3% of emissions attributable to JBS Group’s facilities and not addressing emissions from the supply chain, including from production of beef. Mighty Earth asked the D.C. Superior Court for a declaration that JBS USA’s conduct is in violation of the CPPA, as well as an order enjoining conduct in violation of the CPPA as well as redress in the form of “corrective advertising to address consumer misunderstanding about the environmental harms” of the defendants’ practices. Mighty Earth also asked for costs and disbursements, including attorney fees and expert fees, and equitable relief as necessary to disgorge JBS USA of monies acquired as a result of unlawful trade practices.

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