A California federal court has rejected a proposed class action complaint arising from alleged misleading labeling and advertising of vegetable juice products as “raw” and “organic.” See Alamilla, et al. v. The Hain Celestial Group Inc., et al., No. 3:13-cv-05595 (N.D. Calif. 7/2/14).

Specifically, the complaint asserted that the effects of a pressure treatment in the making of the products were “similar to those of cooking and pasteurization, namely the destruction of vitamins, nutrients, live enzymes, nutritional value, and health benefits.” On their own, said the court, these allegations might seem to state a plausible claim that the defendants’ representations could lead a reasonable consumer to conclude that pressure treatment did not deprive the juice of its nutritional value in the same way that pasteurization does.

But, the court said, the complaint also incorporated by reference two articles that contradicted the plaintiffs’ claim. In particular, the complaint quoted and incorporated by reference a published article that concluded that pressurization has “little or no effects on nutritional and sensory quality aspects of foods.”  Although the plaintiffs did not include this specific conclusion language in their complaint, there was no doubt they had incorporated by reference the entire text of the articles they quoted in their complaint.

The articles the plaintiffs cited contradicted the allegation upon which their entire complaint hinged—namely, that pressure treatment deprives juice of nutritional value to a similar degree as pasteurization. Courts “need not accept as true allegations contradicting documents that are referenced in the complaint.” Lazy Y Ranch LTD v. 24Behrens, 546 F.3d 580, 588 (9th Cir. 2008). “A plaintiff can plead himself out of court by alleging facts which show that he has no claim, even though he was not required to allege those facts.” See Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988-989 (9th Cir. 2001).

Accordingly, the complaint was dismissed with prejudice.