Spencer Sheehan

Spencer Sheehan (born 1978-1979) is an American attorney best known for filing class action lawsuits against major food corporations in the name of consumer protection.^[1][2][3] He lives in Great Neck, New York. Sheehan's lawsuits generally accuse companies of having misleading packaging. In 2023, he had filed over 500 such legal challenges.^[4] In 2021, NPR attributed him with "almost single-handedly caused a historic spike in the number of class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies." These have included lawsuits against the maker of Pop-Tarts, alleging that their 'Strawberry' flavor was deceptively labeled, and over 120 lawsuits specifically focused on 'vanilla' products that contain minimal actual vanilla.^[5][6]

Sheehan was born on and grew up in Long Island, New York. His parents worked as a speech therapist and a carpenter. He attended Georgetown University as an undergraduate, studying history, earned a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from the Fordham University School of Law. Sheehan opened his own law practice in 2013.^[4][7] In 2015, Sheehan represented Bernhard Goetz in an eviction case.^[6] He began filing large numbers of class action lawsuits in 2017.^[7] Some judges have criticized Sheehan for filing excessive cases.^[8][9]