SAN FRANCISCO — Calling a soft drink “diet” isn’t a weight-loss promise, a federal appeals court said Monday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused to reinstate a class-action lawsuit by a woman who argued that the makers of Diet Dr Pepper committed fraud.
Shana Becerra of Santa Rosa argued that she had been drinking Diet Dr Pepper for more than 13 years and “did not receive what she paid for” because of deceptive advertising, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
But when used as an adjective, the dictionary definition of “diet” refers to a product that has fewer calories that the “regular” version of the product, said the ruling by Judge Jay Bybee in a 3-0 appellate panel decision.
“No reasonable consumer would assume that Diet Dr Pepper’s use of the term ‘diet’ promises weight loss or management,” Bybee wrote.
