Blue Moon Craft Beer Class Action Is Tentatively Dismissed

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A Blue Moon class action lawsuit has been tentatively dismissed after a California federal judge rejected claims that manufacturer MillerCoors misled beer-drinkers into believing that Blue Moon was a “craft beer.”

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel stated Wednesday that lead plaintiff Evan Parent could still allege other facts to support his Blue Moon class action lawsuit before the dismissal becomes final.

The Blue Moon beer class action lawsuit was originally filed by Parent in April 2015 stemming over allegations that the beer manufacturing leader deceptively gave customers the impression that Blue Moon is a craft beer.

MillerCoors, which is well-known for making beers including Coors Light, Miller High Life, Milwaukee’s Best, and Keystone, argued that the craft beer class action lawsuit should be dismissed last July stating that by using the trade name Blue Moon Brewing Company they are protected under California’s “safe harbor” which prevents liability under consumer protection laws.

The defendant further alleged that the Blue Moon class action lawsuit is without merit because no reasonable consumer could have been misled by MillerCoors’ use of the term “craft beer” because there is no standard definition of craft beer.

Parent argued that “craft beer” is well defined by the Brewers Association which states: “to qualify as an American craft brewer, a brewery must: (a) Produce less than 6 million barrels of beer annually; (b) Be less than 25 percent owned or controlled by a non-craft brewer; and (c) Make beer using only traditional or innovative brewing ingredients.”

According to the MillerCoors class action lawsuit the beer maker creates more than 76 million barrels of beer each year which disqualifies them from being considered a craft beer brewery.

Parent alleges that even though Blue Moon is not a craft beer, manufacturer MillerCoors charges up to 50 percent more for the product than the other beers they produce.

Judge Curiel ruled that a reasonable customer would not be misled into believing that Blue Moon is a craft beer as the manufacturer does not conceal its ownership, making it evident on their website. The judge also rejected Parent’s claim that the placement of Blue Moon within a grocery or liquor store alongside other craft beers further deceives customers. Curiel stated that Parent did not provide any proof that MillerCoors has control over where retailers place Blue Moon on their shelves.

Despite rejecting some of the claims, Judge Curiel gave plaintiff Parent a chance to amend his claims in order to move forward with the Blue Moon craft beer class action lawsuit.

If the Blue Moon beer class action lawsuit gets approval, Class Members will include California residents who purchased Blue Moon beer from a retailer within the state anytime four years prior to when this class action lawsuit was filed.

The plaintiff is represented by James M. Treglio, R. Craig Clark, Dawn M. Berry and Veronika Snoblova of Clark & Treglio.

The Blue Moon Beer Deceptive Marketing Class Action Lawsuit is Evan Parent, et al. v. MillerCoors LLC, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-01204, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 16, 2016, for the second and presumably last time, a federal court has dismissed a consumer class action lawsuit over whether Blue Moon beer can truly be described as “craft beer.”