Montco-based company settles lawsuit accusing it of deceptively marketing eggs from ‘free roaming’ hens

A Montgomery County-based egg producer agreed Friday to a $287,500 settlement to resolve a federal class-action lawsuit brought by a New York man and a vegan-advocacy nonprofit over alleged false claims on egg cartons.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York in December 2023, accused Alderfer Eggs of deceptively marketing their eggs as coming from “free roaming” hens, which implies a higher standard of care for the birds. Customers are willing to pay more for eggs that have been produced humanely, the complaint said, but Alderfer allegedly used these labels in a “false, deceptive, and misleading” way.

More than 80% of East Coast residents who participated in an online survey said drone photos of an Alderfer partner farm did not fit their understanding of free roaming, the lawsuit said. The complaint did not include the full methodology of the D.C.-based animal cruelty nonprofit’s survey or the number of participants.

“In fact, hens in Alderfer’s supply chain are kept in densely packed barns and do not have meaningful access to the outdoors or natural ground cover. Hence, the hens do not have the ability to roam freely as understood by a reasonable consumer,” the complaint said.

Attorneys for Alderfer did not respond to a request for comment. The company denied all wrongdoing in court filings and said it was settling the case to avoid the expenses and inconveniences of litigation.

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Alderfer stopped using the term “free roaming” in April 2024, according to court records. Its website explains that the eggs are “cage free,” meaning the hens “are given protected free space to roost and nest.”

“Our hens are free to roam around inside the chicken house and produce what is called a ‘Cage Free’ egg,” Alderfer’s website says. “Our houses are designed with facilities that promote the bird’s natural behaviors.”

There is no legally binding definition to the term “free roaming,” said Piper Hoffman, senior director of legal advocacy at Animal Outlook. That’s why Animal Outlook commissioned the survey.

“We had to survey consumers to find out what they thought it meant,” Hoffman said.

Under the settlement agreement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge, each customer of Alderfer’s Eggs could be able to claim $2 per carton of “free roaming” eggs that they bought. Any funds that aren’t claimed by customers and don’t go to attorneys fees or to administer the settlement, will go to Animal Outlook for “education of consumers regarding prevailing conditions in the egg industry generally,” the settlement said.

“I want this company to remove the labeling, and at the same time, I want the industry to know that there are penalties for misleading consumers about the welfare of chickens,” Hoffman said.