Man Takes Hershey's to Court for Under-Filled Candy Boxes

Hell hath no fury like a sweet tooth scorned. Consumerist reports a Missouri man disappointed with the amount of candy in his boxes of Reese's Pieces and Whoppers is suing Hershey's. According to KCUR, Robert Bratton bought a number of boxes of each candy at a grocery store in Columbia for $1 each. But he says he would have been less likely to spend that money if he knew how under-filled the boxes would be. Bratton's lawsuit claims the boxes of Reese's Pieces were under-filled by about 29% and the boxes of Whoppers by about 41%. His lawsuit argues shoppers are being misled.

But Hershey's counters that customers are "well aware" of the concept of "slack fill," by which packages contain some empty space either due to settling or to protect their contents. Besides, the company argues, the total weight and number of candies is printed on each box. Finally, Hershey's says the empty space shouldn't be a surprise to customers as the boxes rattle when picked up. A judge denied Hershey's motion to dismiss the case this week but also deferred on Bratton's desire to turn it into a class-action suit, the Kansas City Business Journal reports. It remains to be seen how much slack fill is too much slack fill, legally speaking, when it comes to our favorite candies. (In related news: Your favorite Hershey's treats may be shrinking soon.)