Long Island woman suing Cold Stone over pistachio ice cream with no nuts

WNYC News

Here’s a scoop from Long Island: A federal judge has ruled that a woman can sue an ice cream company after she found that her pistachio ice cream had no pistachios in it.

Jenna Marie Duncan of Farmingdale said that when she ordered ice cream from the Cold Stone Creamery in Levittown, her taste buds were tricked. Now, a lawsuit she filed could bring a delicious payout for ice cream lovers nationwide.

Duncan went home, looked up the ingredients and found that she was right, according to her civil suit: The ice cream's bright green color and pistachio flavor were entirely artificial. She then filed a class-action case against Cold Stone Creamery’s parent company, Kahala Franchising, accusing it of false advertising.

A federal judge recently determined that the case can move forward. And if a jury agrees with Duncan, an untold number of ice cream connoisseurs could be compensated for the icy imitations they ate in the past.

Duncan and others who have bought pistachio ice cream from Cold Stone could each receive up to $50 under New York law. Meanwhile, a bill currently pending in the state Legislature would increase the maximum award for false advertising damages to $1,000, plus however much money someone spent on an allegedly deceptive purchase.

Kahala Franchising and Duncan’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.

Yesh, a manager at the Cold Stone Creamery on 42nd Street in Manhattan who declined to give his last name, said the flavors are artificial because some people are allergic to or don’t want nuts, even in their pistachio ice cream. He said customers can mix in real peanuts, pecans or almonds, but pistachios are not listed as a mix-in option on the menu.

For the full story, go to Gothamist.com.