General Mills Fruit Snack Label Deal Nixed for Collusion Concern

General Mills Inc. and consumers must rework a false ad settlement that would have required label changes on cartoon fruit snacks but provided no money to class members and $725,000 to their attorneys’ for fees and costs, a California federal court said.

Crystal Hilsley, Adrienne Morris, and others alleged numerous products contain dl-malic acid, an artificial flavor, despite label assurances that they contain no artificial flavors.

The settlement includes all three indicia of potential collusion between attorneys for the company and the plaintiffs, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California said June 4.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers would ...