Ben & Jerry’s was founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Ben & Jerry’s was sued by James Ehlers in a class action suit alleging false advertising. Ehlers asserted that Ben & Jerry’s rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s as a socially conscious, Vermont-based company that attracted consumers due to “the brand and all that it represented[.]”

Ehlers further alleged that Ben & Jerry’s “reputation for being socially and environmentally conscious” was a “valuable and significant component of Unilever’s acquisition of the brand[.]” Even though Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield are no longer involved in the day-to-day management of Ben & Jerry’s, Ehlers asserted that Unilever “continues to capitalize” on Ben & Jerry’s goodwill and reputation.

Ehlers alleged that in the “past several years,” Unilever has breached consumers’ trust by representing on Ben & Jerry’s ice cream packaging and website that Ben & Jerry’s products are “sourced exclusively from ‘happy cows’ on Vermont dairies that participate in a special, humane ‘Caring Dairy’ program.” Ehlers asserted that until just prior to the suit, Ben & Jerry’s website claimed that the “Caring Dairy” program is “required for all farmers.” In reality, however, Ehlers asserted that only a percentage of the milk used in Ben & Jerry’s products is sourced from the Caring Dairy program, while the remainder comes from mass-production dairy operations, purportedly

“exactly what consumers who choose Ben & Jerry’s Products would like to avoid.” Ben & Jerry’s ice cream packaging, signage in its retail locations, and take-away cups “present the Products as made with milk produced by ‘happy cows’” and feature cartoon images of happy cows in green fields under blue skies in order to depict “happy animals.” Does Ehler’s claim regarding the Caring Dairy program have any weight? What about the claim that the “happy cows” on Ben & Jerry’s packaging is misleading? How did the court rule?