Folgers, Walmart False Advertising Lawsuits Grouped in Missouri

So many consumers were irked about allegedly being shorted precious coffee by Folgers that the courts decided to consolidate the cases.

Folger Coffee Co., its parent J.M. Smucker Co., and retail giant Walmart were all accused in lawsuits of falsely advertising the number of servings in ground coffee canisters, and therefore overcharging customers. A total of nine lawsuits were filed across California, Florida, Illinois, and Missouri about the canister capacity.

Now, just one case will be argued in a Missouri court, Law360 reported.

The move had to go through the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which agreed to consolidate five of the class action lawsuits and four possible tag-along lawsuits. All the cases carried similar claims of misrepresentation, breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and violation of state consumer protection laws. Folgers, Smucker, and Walmart did not oppose centralizing the case but insisted on Missouri over California as the venue.  

The lead plaintiff behind the Florida class action, Marcia Sorin, accused Folgers of “unlawful, unfair, and deceptive business practices” because the company promises a certain number of cups of coffee can be brewed from a package, when in reality “the can contents cannot produce anywhere near the number of cups represented,” her class action lawsuit claims.

Sorin says that Folgers Classic Roast, which states on the front label that it makes up to 380 six-ounce cups, only makes about 265 to 275 six-fluid-ounce servings — even when following the directions on the label.

Sorin’s lawsuit alleges several other Folgers products’ serving sizes don’t add up — including Folgers Special Roast Medium, Folgers ½ Caff Medium, Folgers Coffeehouse Blend Med-Dark, and Folgers Breakfast Blend Mild, which all claim to produce 210 six-ounce coffee servings while only producing about 150 to 160 servings according to Sorin.

Similarly, lead plaintiff in the Illinois lawsuit Ellen Moser says she purchased a 30.5 oz. container of Folgers Classic Roast from Walmart, which is advertised to make 240 cups of coffee, but was left disappointed when the container made much less, the lawsuit alleges.

Folgers went on the defensive in November, according to Law360, and urged the Florida courts to dismiss Sorin’s proposed class action. The company challenged the testing undertaken by Sorin’s “expert chemist,” and said a label suggestion did not equate to instructions on how to drink coffee.

Have you purchased Folgers coffee and feel you didn’t get your money’s worth? We’d like to hear from you. Tell us your story in the comments below.

Moser is represented by Katrina Carroll, Kyle Shamberg, Todd D. Carpenter and Scott G. Braden of Carlson Lynch LLP. Sorin is represented by Emily Cornelia Komlossy of Komlossy Law PA, Beth A. Keller of Beth A. Keller PC and Laurence D. Paskowitz and Roy L. Jacobs of Paskowitz Law Firm PC.

Folgers and Smucker are represented by Ronald Y. Rothstein, Sean H. Suber and Cristina Isabel Calvar of Winston & Strawn LLP.

The Folgers Coffee Class Action Lawsuit is IN RE: Folgers Coffee Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Case No. 2984, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Missouri.

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