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Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 1 of 6
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`[DO NOT PUBLISH]
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`IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
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`FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
`________________________
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`No. 19-12714
`Non-Argument Calendar
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`D.C. Docket No. 0:18-cv-61924-RNS
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`versus
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`MOUNIRA DOSS,
`individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
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` Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross Appellee,
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`GENERAL MILLS, INC.,
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` Defendant-Appellee-Cross Appellant.
`________________________
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`Appeals from the United States District Court
`for the Southern District of Florida
`________________________
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`(May 20, 2020)
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`Before WILSON, MARTIN, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
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`PER CURIAM:
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`Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 2 of 6
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`Mounira Doss, individually and on behalf of a putative class, filed a
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`complaint asserting that General Mills, Inc., does not tell consumers that one of its
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`products—Cheerios—contains glyphosate. Glyphosate is a substance that is a
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`“probable human carcinogen.” Doss brought four claims against General Mills,
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`asserting a violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act
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`(“FDUTPA”); breach of warranty; breach of implied warranty of merchantability;
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`and unjust enrichment. Doss is appealing the district court’s order granting
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`General Mills’s motion to dismiss her complaint.
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`I.
`Glyphosate, an herbicide, is often sprayed on oats before they are harvested.
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`General Mills uses oats in manufacturing Original and Honey Nut Cheerios, the
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`two cereals Doss addresses in her complaint. Testing has revealed trace amounts
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`of glyphosate in samples of these cereals. The measured levels in the Cheerios that
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`tested positive range between 470 and 1,125 parts per billion. According to Doss,
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`“even ultra-low levels of glyphosate may be harmful to human health.” Doss relies
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`on a study published by a nonprofit entity, the Environmental Working Group,
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`which has determined that the “health benchmark” for glyphosate is 160 parts per
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`billion.
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`Doss’s claims against General Mills stem from General Mills’s alleged
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`failure to disclose to consumers that its Original and Honey Nut Cheerios contain
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`2
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`Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 3 of 6
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`glyphosate. She seeks to represent a nationwide class defined as “all persons who
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`purchased Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios in the United States” and a Florida
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`class defined as “all persons in the State of Florida who purchased Cheerios and
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`Honey Nut Cheerios.” Doss maintains that this putative class has been harmed by
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`General Mills’s lack of disclosure because, if they had known the cereal contained
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`glyphosate, they would never have purchased it.
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`General Mills filed a motion to dismiss Doss’s complaint on several
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`grounds. It argued that Doss lacked Article III standing; her claims were
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`preempted; the Environmental Protection Agency had exclusive jurisdiction over
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`Doss’s claims; and Doss failed to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil
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`Procedure 12(b)(6). The district court agreed that Doss lacked standing, primarily
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`finding that there is “no allegation that the cereal she purchased even contains
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`glyphosate, never mind harmful levels of it.” It dismissed Doss’s complaint and
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`declined to reach the other grounds General Mills raised. Doss challenges that
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`decision.
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`II.
`Whether a party has Article III standing is a threshold jurisdictional issue
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`that must be resolved before any federal court can reach the merits of a plaintiff’s
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`claim. Kawa Orthodontics, LLP v. Sec’y, U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, 773 F.3d
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`243, 245 (11th Cir. 2014). We review de novo whether a plaintiff has Article III
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`3
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`Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 4 of 6
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`standing. Id. “In assessing standing on a motion to dismiss, we presume the
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`plaintiff’s ‘general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to
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`support the claim.’” Id. (quoting Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555,
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`561, 112 S. Ct. 2130, 2137 (1992)). We must accept as true all material allegations
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`of the complaint and construe the complaint in favor of the complaining party. Id.
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`III.
`To have Article III standing, a plaintiff must have “(1) suffered an injury in
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`fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and
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`(3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Spokeo, Inc. v.
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`Robins, 578 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 1547 (2016). To establish the first element,
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`“a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered an invasion of a legally protected
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`interest that is concrete and particularized and actual or imminent, not conjectural
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`or hypothetical.” Id. at 1548 (quotation marks omitted). A “concrete” injury is
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`“real[] and not abstract.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). For an injury to be
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`“particularized,” it “must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way.” Id.
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`(quotation marks omitted).
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`Doss says she has suffered an economic loss solely by purchasing Cheerios
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`that she would not have purchased if she knew they contained glyphosate.
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`Economic injuries are the “epitome” of concrete injuries. MSPA Claims 1, LLC v.
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`Tenet Fla., Inc., 918 F.3d 1312, 1318 (11th Cir. 2019). A person experiences an
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`4
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`Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 5 of 6
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`economic injury when, as a result of a deceptive act or an unfair practice, she is
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`deprived of the benefit of her bargain. See Carriuolo v. Gen. Motors Co., 823 F.3d
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`977, 986–87 (11th Cir. 2016) (holding that class members bringing FDUTPA
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`claims were denied the benefit of their bargain and thus injured when they
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`purchased vehicles that were represented as having three perfect safety ratings but
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`actually had no safety ratings). “Ordinarily, when a plaintiff purchases a product
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`with a defect, the product retains some value, meaning her benefit-of-the-bargain
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`damages are less than the entire purchase price of the product.” Debernardis v. IQ
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`Formulations, LLC, 942 F.3d 1076, 1084 (11th Cir. 2019). However, one
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`exception to this general rule applies when the “product is rendered valueless as a
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`result of a defect.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). We analyze Doss’s allegations
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`under this “valueless” framework.
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`Doss claims that “she was misled by General Mills’ health-related
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`statements,” including that Cheerios are “packed with nutrients” and are
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`“wholesome,” because those statements are irreconcilable with the presence of
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`glyphosate. To evaluate a benefit-of-the-bargain theory in this context, we must
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`consider whether Doss alleged that the presence of glyphosate lowers the value of
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`the Cheerios she purchased. See Debernardis, 942 F.3d at 1084. Doss appears to
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`be advancing a theory that the presence of glyphosate renders Cheerios unsafe to
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`5
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`Case: 19-12714 Date Filed: 05/20/2020 Page: 6 of 6
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`eat. See Complaint at ¶¶ 12, 14–16, 35; Appellant’s Brief at 10. But this is where
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`her allegations do not match her underlying theory.
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`Doss has not alleged that glyphosate is wholly unsafe to consume, rendering
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`the Cheerios she purchased valueless. Cf. Debernardis, 942 F.3d at 1085 (“[W]e
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`accept, at least at the motion to dismiss stage, that a dietary supplement that is
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`deemed adulterated and cannot lawfully be sold has no value.”). Rather, she has
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`alleged that “ultra-low levels of glyphosate,” such as levels above a benchmark of
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`160 parts per billion, “may be harmful to human health.” But Doss has not alleged
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`that she purchased any boxes of Cheerios that contained any glyphosate, much less
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`a level of glyphosate that is so harmful the Cheerios are “presumptively unsafe”
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`and therefore worthless. See Debernardis, 942 F.3d at 1086. Because Doss has
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`alleged merely a “conjectural or hypothetical” injury, we affirm the district court’s
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`order granting General Mills’s motion to dismiss. See Spokeo, 136 S. Ct. at 1548.
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`AFFIRMED.
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`6
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