General Mills is taking its insurers to court over who picks up the tab for a growing wave of ultra-processed food lawsuits.
In a filing dated April 10, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (No. 2:26-cv-02359), the food giant brought a declaratory judgment action against Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company and ACE Property and Casualty Insurance Company, seeking a ruling on their respective obligations under primary and excess commercial general liability policies.
At the heart of the dispute is a string of lawsuits alleging that General Mills manufactured, marketed, and sold ultra-processed foods that caused serious health problems for consumers. The first of these, Martinez v. Kraft Heinz Co. Inc., et al., was filed in late 2024 by a plaintiff who was eighteen years old at the time and who claims that lifelong consumption of ultra-processed foods led to his diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease at age sixteen. According to the complaint, at least six more lawsuits making similar claims have since been filed in courts across the country.
General Mills says it promptly tendered the lawsuits to both insurers. According to the court filing, Liberty agreed to participate in the defense of some of the cases but did so under broad reservations of rights, including the right to disclaim coverage, pull out of the defense entirely, and seek reimbursement for any defense costs already paid. The filing also states that Liberty denied any obligation to defend or indemnify General Mills in connection with a separate action brought by the San Francisco City Attorney. ACE, meanwhile, acknowledged receiving notice of the Martinez lawsuit in January 2025 but, according to General Mills, has not issued a substantive coverage position in over a year, despite at least one follow-up.
The policies in question include Liberty primary CGL policies running from June 2009 through June 2015, each with per-occurrence limits of $2,000,000, general aggregate limits of $5,000,000, and a $2,000,000 per-occurrence deductible. ACE provided first-layer excess/umbrella coverage for consecutive periods from June 2009 through June 2025, with per-occurrence limits between $15,000,000 and $25,000,000 depending on the policy year.
One of the more consequential questions in the case centers on an endorsement in the Liberty policies titled "Occurrence Redefined." That language defines an occurrence as "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions," and provides that all such exposure "shall be considered as arising out of the same 'occurrence', regardless of the frequency or repetition thereof, or the number of claimants." General Mills argues this means every underlying lawsuit amounts to a single occurrence, and therefore only one $2,000,000 deductible applies across all of them.
General Mills also contends that defense costs count toward satisfying the deductible but do not erode the policies' limits of liability, and that Liberty must continue funding the defense until it exhausts those limits through payment of damages.
As of the filing date, General Mills says it has already incurred defense costs roughly equal to or exceeding the $2,000,000 deductible.
No court ruling has been made. The case remains in its early stages, and none of the allegations have been tested or determined by the court.
