A new class-action lawsuit involves four different states and a very literal reading of the label on a bottle of hot sauce. The first state is California, where resident Philip White went to the supermarket and bought a bottle of Texas Pete (second state) hot sauce, reports USA Today. Upon getting home and reading the label, however, White discovered that the product—which falls under the general category of a Louisiana-style (third state) hot sauce—is not made in Texas but rather in the fourth state, North Carolina.
"White relied upon the language and images displayed on the front label of the product, and at the time of purchase understood the product to be a Texas product," says the complaint, per WGHP. He says he never would have bought the hot sauce had he known it wasn't from Texas, renowned for its spiciness, and he's asking the court to force parent company TW Garner Food to pay damages and change the brand's name.
The company "has cheated its way to a market-leading position in the $3 billion hot-sauce industry at the expense of law-abiding competitors and consumers nationwide who desire authentic Texas hot sauce and reasonably, but incorrectly, believe that is what they are getting when they purchase Texas Pete," says the complaint. Texas Pete has not commented, but the brand's website makes no secret of the fact that it's made in North Carolina. So why the long-standing name? As the website explains, it's just a marketing thing. (More class-action lawsuits stories.)