Judge dismisses lawsuit over faceless Reese’s pumpkin candy
Por Erin Keller — – World RSS Feed
Judge dismisses lawsuit over faceless Reese’s pumpkin candy
Hershey said a reasonable consumer would not view the packaging as a guarantee that the candy would have a carved face
Erin Keller In Ohio Tuesday 22 September 2026 20:09 BST
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Trick or treat, Reese’s chocolate pumpkins are still good to eat, regardless of whether they have the distinctly carved eyes and mouth shown on the packaging, a federal judge in Miami ruled.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Hershey of misleading consumers with its seasonal candy packaging. She ruled that Florida consumers Nathan Vidal and Eduardo Granados failed to show they suffered a concrete financial injury.
Vidal and Granados claimed they paid more for Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins because they expected the candies to have the decorative faces shown on the package.
The packaging for the Halloween staple shows a pumpkin-shaped Reese’s with carved eyes and a mouth, while the actual candy has a plain surface. It also labels the illustration a “decorating suggestion.”
The plaintiffs’ alleged harm amounted to “subjective disappointment,” adding that the candies they bought were not defective or worthless and were still shaped like pumpkins, Damian wrote in a court order granting a motion to dismiss.
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“What’s more, Plaintiffs include a photograph of what they actually received,” Damian wrote, adding that while the candy lacked the “cool looking carving of a pumpkin’s mouth and eyes,” it was still pumpkin-shaped.
The plaintiff claimed they paid as much as 25 percent too much because of the designs shown on the packaging. But Damian rejected that argument, saying that Vidal and Granados bought the candy at Publix while relying on prices from Target, Walmart and Hershey’s online store to calculate the alleged overpayment.
Damian already dismissed an earlier version of the lawsuit in September 2025, finding that the plaintiffs had not established a concrete injury. She allowed them to amend their complaint before dismissing the revised case.
Hershey argued that the packaging clearly identified the carved faces as a “decorating suggestion.” A reasonable consumer would not interpret the images as a guarantee that the candy itself would have those features, the company said.
The latest dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the court did not rule on the underlying consumer-protection claims.
James Kelly, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients were disappointed by the ruling and planned to appeal.
“Consumers in Florida deserve to get what they pay for, and it is troubling to see them left without protection,” Kelly told Reuters.
The Independent has contacted Hershey for comment.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins are just one of the more than 20 Halloween-themed products Hershey released last month ahead of the holiday.
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