Kraft Heinz Agrees to $16M Maxwell House, Yuban Settlement

Kraft Heinz has agreed to a $16 million Maxwell House settlement resolving claims the company misrepresents the size and number of servings the product contains.

The nationwide Class is made up of anyone who purchased one or more Maxwell House- or Yuban-branded ground coffee products for personal use between Aug. 27, 2015, and Jan. 18, 2021.

Without proof of purchase, Class Members in the Maxwell House settlement will be able to claim $0.80 per unit purchased, up to a maximum of six, for a total of $4.80.

Class Members who provide proof of purchase may claim $0.80 per unit purchased, up to a total reimbursement of $25.

Only one claim may be filed per household.

In addition to the monetary relief, Kraft Heinz has agreed to verify through testing by a reputable third-party laboratory the number of suggested-strength servings for the lower and upper ends of the ranges listed on the label of each product.

Plaintiff Kimberly E. Ferron claimed Maxwell House coffee products are marketed using misleading information about the number of servings they contain, as well as about the serving sizes.

Ferron, who said she had purchased Maxwell House Master Blend and Yuban Traditional Roast Ground Coffee in May 2020, claimed these statements misled her, and deceiving her into paying more for the products.

The product instructions for brewing coffee include guidance on how much coffee to use per serving, the class action lawsuit said.

The product labels indicate one tablespoon of Maxwell House coffee will make one serving of coffee, and a half cup, or 8 tablespoons, of coffee will make 10 servings. 

These serving sizes are allegedly accompanied by statements that 6 fluid ounces of water should be used per tablespoon of coffee.

But Ferron maintained the amount of coffee in the container actually makes far fewer servings.

In her class action lawsuit, Ferron said she and others relied on representations that they could make 180 to 210 servings with the products they purchased. 

However, the class action lawsuit said, because these representations were false, consumers were allegedly financially injured by overpaying for the products.

Kraft Heinz has denied any wrongdoing, and a court has not ruled in favor of either party.

Have you purchased Maxwell House or Yuban ground coffee? Did you find the advertised serving sizes to be accurate? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

The plaintiff is represented by L. DeWayne Layfield of the Law Office of L. DeWayne Layfield PLLC, Lydia Sturgis Zbrzeznj and Nicholas Zbrzeznj of Southern Atlantic Law Group PLLC, and Joel Oster of Counsel for Law Office of Howard W. Rubinstein PA.

The Maxwell House Serving Sizes Class Action Lawsuit is Kimberly E. Ferron v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co., Case No. 0:20-cv-62136-RAR, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

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