Akerman Intellectual Property Partner Caroline Mankey was quoted in USA Today and the Triad Business Journal after achieving a class action dismissal for client TW Garner Food Co., the maker of Texas Pete hot sauce. The plaintiff alleged that the branding of Texas Pete, which is made in North Carolina, was deceptive and led him to pay more for the sauce than if it was not marketed as being from Texas.

In the USA Today article titled, "Lawsuit claiming 'there is nothing 'Texas' about Texas Pete' hot sauce dismissed," Mankey said: "The company has always been proud of and made no secret about its North Carolina heritage."

In the Triad Business Journal article titled, "Legal wrangling over Texas Pete brand ends in dismissal," Mankey explained that the discovery process that was underway may have influenced the plaintiff's decision to request a dismissal.

The publication wrote: "Mankey referenced an earlier case involving the same plaintiff and same law firm involving the grocer Kroger, which had delved deeply through the discovery process as to whether there was any impropriety in the relationship between the plaintiff and his attorney."

The Akerman team representing TW Garner Food Co. also included Investment Management Practice Chair Paul Foley, Government Affairs and Public Policy Partner Felicia Leborgne Nowels, and Intellectual Property Associate Christopher McAndrew.