Oh, cheeses: Another Parmesan-cheese lawsuit shakes out in Boston federal court

The lawyers who found a Norwood man to sue the parent company of Shaw's and Star Market over 100% grated Parmesan cheese that was allegedly substantially less than 100% grated Parmesan cheese have found another man allegedly put out by similar treatment at Target.

In a lawsuit filed this week in US District Court, Ronald Saitta says he and other purchasers of Market Pantry Parmesan 100% Grated Cheese can only be made whole with the payment of at least $5 million - plus damages and lawyer's fees.

Like Derrick Sims, who charges he was "injured in fact" by the cheese leavened with a healthy dose of wood-pulp-based cellulose, Saitta says he was "injured in fact" by the container of less-than-100% grated Parmesan cheese he bought at the Everett Target.

Plaintiff would not have purchased the product, and/or would have paid significantly less for the product, had he known that the “100%” representation is false and mischaracterizes the amount and percentage of
parmesan cheese in the container. Plaintiff suffered injury in fact as a result of Defendant’s deceptive, misleading, false, and unfair practices.

And like Sims, he rests his case on a news report by Bloomberg about the amount of cellulose found in certain brands of cheese aimed at people who don't want to do their own grating.

The fact that he and everybody else relied on container labeling that they were getting nothing but pure Parmesan is a violation of consumer-protection laws across the country and worth the class action for which he wants to be named lead plaintiff, the suit says.