The Sound of Silence

The silence from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their front group, the Illinois Civil Justice League is deafening.

They often complain that our courts are clogged by frivolous lawsuits.

They often say these lawsuits are nothing more than an attempt to shake down deep-pocketed defendants.

They like to argue that these massive, multi-million dollar lawsuits are imposing a tax on every working family.

Then comes this case:

Lawsuit against Splenda settled

The makers of Splenda and Equal on Friday settled a lawsuit over Splenda's disputed advertising slogan -- "Made from sugar so it tastes like sugar."

The settlement came right after the jury in Philadelphia announced it had reached a verdict.

Chicago-based Merisant Co., which makes Equal, accused Splenda of confusing consumers into thinking its product was healthier and more natural than other artificial sweeteners. Splenda's marketer, McNeil Nutritionals, countered that it simply has a better product backed by superior advertising.

A McNeil spokeswoman said the amount of the settlement wouldn't be announced.

Merisant was seeking more than $200 million from McNeil -- at least $183 million for unfair profits since 2003 and compensation for at least $25 million in lost sales.

The active ingredient in Splenda starts as pure cane sugar but is chemically altered to create a compound that contains no calories, according to McNeil. The final product contains no sugar.

That’s right. Splenda is made from sugar. And no one is disputing that it tastes like sugar (as a user of Splenda, I can tell you it tastes alot more like sugar than Equal, which tastes like the rancid extract of dirty sweat socks to me).

But Equal didn’t like the fact that they were getting their butt kicked in the free market, with Splenda cornering 60% of the artificial sweetener market in just a few short years, so the makers of Equal filed a $208 million lawsuit.

Now, Splenda is also being sued by sugar makers.

To me, this case seems to fit the definition of a frivilous lawsuit. And the infamous McDonald's case is dwarfed by this $208 million lawsuit.

Where’s the t.v. ads and press releases from the Illinois Civil Justice League blasting corporate America for filing frivolous lawsuits? Where’s the think tank study showing how Equal’s frivolous lawsuit is driving up the cost of Splenda – now found in over 4,000 consumer products – for hard working families?

Meanwhile, the ICJL is running t.v. ads about how many lawsuits are filed in Illinois each year. I wonder how many of those lawsuits are by businesses suing each other, just like this case?