A proposed class-action lawsuit accusing wellness product manufacturer Total Life Changes of making a hemp tea that caused a consumer to fail a drug test has been tossed out of court.
A federal judge in Minnesota granted a joint dismissal stipulation for the lawsuit on Thursday, after he had declined in June to throw it out, Law 360 first reported.
The lawsuit, filed by an Alabama woman who claimed that the raspberry lemonade instant tea from Michigan-based Total Life Changes was falsely advertised as containing zero THC.
But a random drug test ordered from her employer returned a THC-positive result, and she was fired in July.
The woman also complained that the company’s regional director told her the tea and other products from Total Life Changes did not contain THC, but a marijuana drug testing kit showed that THC was in the tea.
The woman, who previously lived in Minnesota, tried to represent more than 600 Minnesota residents who also bought the raspberry instant tea over the past six years.
The judge also threw out claims on Wednesday for a similar lawsuit against Total Life Changes from a New Jersey man who said the company’s instant tea is “intentionally misleading the general public” by carrying a label that says it “contains 0.0% THC as evidenced through independent laboratory tests.”
The judge said the case lacked specificity for its claims under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, though two claims still remain out of nine.
