- In a November 3 brief, a proposed class of buyers urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive its claims that MillerCoors deceptively marketed Coors Light as being exclusively brewed in the Colorado Rockies with “pure Rocky Mountain spring water,” even though it is now brewed across the country (subscription to Law360 required). Lead plaintiff Joaquin Lorenzo argued that the case was wrongly dismissed and that its claims are not akin to other implausible or frivolous lawsuits, like the case that alleged the advertising for Cap’n Crunch Berries cereal deceived consumers into believing that the cereal contained actual berries. Sugawara v. Pepsico, Inc., No. 2:08-cv-01335-MCE-JFM, 2009 WL 1439115 (E.D. Cal. May, 21 2009); Werberl ex rel. v. Pepsico, Inc., No. C 09-04456 SBA, 2010 WL 2673860 (N.D. Cal. Jul. 2, 2010).
- Lorenzo argued that this suit is comparable to others that have survived the pleading stage, like Marty v. Anheuser-Busch, which alleged that the labeling of Beck’s beer misleadingly implied it was exclusively brewed in Germany. Lorenzo claimed that “product origin advertising is a lifeblood of the consumer marketplace,” and also cited the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court, which established that consumers who claim they were deceived by a product’s label into spending money they would not have otherwise spent have standing to sue.
- Lorenzo’s claims were twice dismissed at the pleading stage. In his appeal, Lorenzo has asked the court to reverse the district court’s order dismissing the case because the court was wrong to find that no reasonable consumer would be confused.
- Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on this case and other litigation affecting the food industry.