"local" is falsifiable but relative, meaning damages for false advertising must be limited

Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. v. Sycamore, 2019 WL 1058234, No. 13-cv-00749 (D. Utah Mar. 5, 2019)Previously, Bimbo won a false advertising claim in front of a jury against U.S. Bakery for trade secret misappropriation and for falsely advertising its bread as “local.” Bimbo Bakeries’ false advertising damages were limited to Utah and southern Idaho.  At trial, Bimbo’s expert testified about consumer surveys performed on U.S. Bakery’s fresh/local tagline, and another expert offered damages testimony; U.S. Bakery offered conflicting expert testimony.  After the verdict judgment was entered against U.S. Bakery for $8,027,720 in false advertising damages and $1,578,942 in trade secret damages, plus exemplary damages of $789,471 for the trade secret claim. U.S. Bakery argued that the verdict should be set aside because (1) the word “local” in U.S. Bakery’s tagline is not a specific geographic place, and therefore not false or…

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