MDL Approved for Anheuser-Busch Watered-Down Beer Class Action Lawsuits

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On June 10, 2013, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) approved the consolidation of six putative class action lawsuits accusing Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC of selling watered down beer by overstating the alcohol content of its beers.

The multidistrict litigation (MDL) will be handled by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent in the Northern District of Ohio. Judge Nugent is currently presiding over one of the class action lawsuits at issue. The other lawsuits have been pending in federal courts in California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.

The proposed Anheuser-Busch class action lawsuits were filed earlier this year and accuse the company of deliberately and systematically overstating the alcohol content on the labels on several of its malt beverage products, including:

• Black Crown
• Budweiser
• Bud Ice
• Bud Light Lime
• Bud Light Platinum
• Busch Ice
• Hurricane High Gravity Lager
• King Cobra
• Michelob
• Michelob Ultra
• Natural Ice

In the class action lawsuits pending in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, plaintiffs asserted that, while Anheuser-Busch has the ability to control the alcohol content of its malt beverages within hundredths of a percent, the company dilutes the products so that it can produce more beer with the same starting batch of ingredients. They allege that this product dilution is deliberate and systematic. As a result, customers are overpaying for a product that does not come close to the beverage’s advertised alcohol content.

Peter Kraemer, the vice president of brewing and supply at Anheuser-Busch, has stated that the class action lawsuits are groundless. He asserts that Anheuser-Busch is in compliance with all alcohol-labeling laws.

Anheuser-Busch opposed the MDL, arguing that the factual questions posed by the class action lawsuits were not numerous or complex enough to justify centralization. They claim that any variance in the alcohol content of their beverages from the amount printed on the label is within the range approved by federal alcohol regulations. Anheuser-Busch also indicated that centralization was not necessary because of the limited number of lawyers involved with the class action lawsuits. These attorneys could voluntarily coordinate their efforts to streamline the legal proceedings.

The JPML disagreed with Anheuser-Busch’s assertion, claiming that the class action lawsuits were pending in six separate states and that there was only a minimal overlap in legal representation.

According to the JPML, the six class action lawsuits share factual questions related to Anheuser-Busch’s alleged systematic and deliberate practice of overstating the alcohol content on the labels of 11 malt beverage products. The panel wrote that centralization “will eliminate duplicative discovery; prevent inconsistent pretrial rulings, especially with respect to class certification; and conserve the resources of the parties, their counsel and the judiciary.” The JPML found that the Northern District of Ohio is an appropriate venue for the MDL because of its geographically central location.

The Anheuser-Busch Watered Down Beer Class Action Lawsuit case is In Re: Anheuser-Busch Beer Labeling Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL Number 2448, in the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Mills Law Firm, Bramson Plutzik Mahler & Birkhaeuser LLP, Caroselli Beachler McTiernan & Conboy, and Ronald Frederick & Associates Co. LPA.

UPDATE: On June 2, 2014, the federal judge overseeing the Anheuser-Busch MDL dismissed the case, ruling the company is within the federally acceptable range of 0.3 percent wiggle room allowed for malt beverages containing 0.5 alcohol or more.

UPDATE 2: On Mar. 22, 2016, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a consolidated class action lawsuit that accused Anheuser-Busch of overstating the alcohol content of its beers.

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