What specific law did the plaintiffs in the Ben-Ami case allege Ben Jerrys violated?
Ben_Jerrys Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
e**"); and Rebecca Spiegelman v. Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., Class Action No. 46391-07-21 (the "Spiegelman Case")).
The named plaintiffs in the Ben-Ami Case and the Spiegelman Case asserted that Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc.'s ("Homemade's") July 19, 2021 announcement that it would cease to sell products in the disputed territories was a violation of Section 3(a1) of the "Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services, and Entry to Public Places Law, 2000" In the Ben-Ami Case, the named plaintiff sought an order requiring Homemade to withdraw its announcement, and made a personal claim of NIS 100 (approximately USD$30), and the class's total claim was NIS 14,000,000 (approximately USD$4,307,690). In the Spiegelman Case, the named plaintiffs sought an injunction that would restrain Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. ("Homemade") from discriminating against the residents of the disputed territories and would force Homemade to market its products in an equal manner in Israel. The amount sought in the Spiegelman Case was a personal claim of NIS 100 (approximately USD$30) and the class's total claim is NIS 30,000,000 (approximately USD$9,230,770).
On December 16, 2021, the Ben-Ami and Spiegelman plaintiffs (referred to hereafter as the "Applicants") moved together to submit a unified motion to certify a class action under the Israeli Class Action Law. At the same time, the Applicants moved to amend their motion to certify a class action in order to add a claim under Israel's "Anti-Boycott Law". On December 29, 2021,
Homemade objected to the motions to unify and amend, arguing that (a) it would overburden Homemade to defend against two separate Applicants; and (b) because no "dealer-customer" relationship or consumer relationship exists between Homemade and the Applicants, a claim under the Anti-Boycott Law could not be adjudicated in the framework of the Israeli Class Actions Law.
On January 16, 2022, the Applicants responded, making arguments that a) striking down one motion would be detrimental to the other represented class; (b) amendments of motions to certify class actions an early stage should be adjudicated with a liberal approach; and (c) a claim under the Anti-Boycott law should have been raised in Homemade's response to the motion to certify the class action.
In June 2022, the parties in the Avi Avraham Zinger and American Quality Products Ltd.
Source: Item 3 — LITIGATION (FDD pages 18–20)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Ben Jerrys's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the plaintiffs in the Ben-Ami case alleged that Ben Jerrys violated Section 3(a1) of the "Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services, and Entry to Public Places Law, 2000". This claim arose from Ben Jerrys's announcement on July 19, 2021, that it would cease selling products in disputed territories. The plaintiffs sought an order requiring Ben Jerrys to withdraw this announcement. The named plaintiff in the Ben-Ami case also sought personal damages of NIS 100 (approximately USD$30), while the total claim for the class was NIS 14,000,000 (approximately USD$4,307,690).
Additionally, the plaintiffs in the related Spiegelman Case sought an injunction to prevent Ben Jerrys from discriminating against residents of the disputed territories and to force Ben Jerrys to market its products equally in Israel. The amount sought in the Spiegelman Case included a personal claim of NIS 100 (approximately USD$30) and a total class claim of NIS 30,000,000 (approximately USD$9,230,770). Later, the plaintiffs moved to amend their motion to include a claim under Israel's "Anti-Boycott Law".
Ultimately, the Ben-Ami and Spiegelman cases were settled in December 2022 for a combined nominal amount of $25,000, to be split equally, and were subsequently dismissed. This resolution occurred after an agreement was reached regarding the distribution of Ben Jerrys products in Israel and the disputed territories in the case of Avi Avraham Zinger and American Quality Products Ltd. v. Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., Unilever United States, Inc. and Conopco, Inc.