Hershey Halloween confectionery lawsuit: overview
- Hershey secured dismissal after judge ruled plaintiffs lacked standing
- Lawsuit claimed Reese’s Halloween pumpkins lacked advertised carved designs
- Hershey argued packaging labelled carvings as decorating suggestions
- Judge found consumers alleged disappointment rather than economic harm
- Plaintiffs plan appeal, raising questions over consumer protection claims
The Hershey Company has had a lawsuit claiming it misled consumers dismissed, with US District Judge Melissa Damian stating it lacked legal standing.
The unusual suit argued Hershey’s Reese’s Halloween-themed pumpkins lacked the decorative carved designs shown on the packaging, with Florida residents Nathan Vidal and Eduardo Granados saying they bought them for the “novelty” value.
But the confectionery giant fought back highlighting that its packaging included a disclaimer that the depicted carvings were a “decorating suggestion” only.
Added to this, Judge Damian noted that Vidal and Granados did not “allege that the Hershey’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins that they purchased were defective or worthless or that they lost all economic value because of the absence of the decorative carvings" and as a result the only injury to them was their “subjective disappointment”.
Judge Damian had already dismissed an earlier version of the case in September 2025, but it appears the pair won’t be deterred, as their lawyer James Kelly has already confirmed plans to appeal.
“Consumers in Florida deserve to get what they pay for, and it is troubling to see them left without protection,” said Kelly in a statement.
The Hershey Company declined to comment on the ruling saying it does not comment on litigation.
