Splenda Agrees to Settlement
How sweet is the settlement reached Friday between the makers of Splenda and Equal?
Lawyers won’t say. They agreed to the deal after jurors announced they had reached a verdict, according to Bloomberg news.
A juror told the Legal Intelligencer the award would have been “substantial,” although it was less than the $208.5 million sought by Equal maker Merisant Co.
At issue was whether Splenda’s ad slogan, “Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar,” was misleading. McNeil Nutritionals, which markets Splenda, claimed the manufacturing process begins with sugar before it is chemically altered.
After jurors announced they had reached a verdict, lawyers rushed into the judge’s chambers to delay the announcement, according to the Associated Press. They had started settlement talks after jurors asked for a calculator to determine damages.
