6th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Tassimo Starbucks Class Action

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Earlier this week, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a class action lawsuit filed by consumers who accused Kraft Foods Global Inc. of duping them into thinking they could use Starbucks coffee pods in their Tassimo coffeemakers.

Plaintiff Pamela Montgomery had claimed that Kraft and Starbucks breached warranties to consumers when their business relationship failed and resulted in Starbucks single-cup coffee pods becoming incompatible with Kraft’s Tassimo coffeemakers.

According to the single-serve coffee class action lawsuit, the Tassimo coffeemakers brew individual servings of coffee using “T-discs” that are designed to fit the specific Tassimo coffeemaker. When Starbucks stopped making these T-discs, consumers with Tassimo coffeemakers were allegedly unable to brew Starbucks coffee.

Montgomery argued that Kraft and Starbucks, which reportedly enjoyed a 12-year partnership, deceived consumers by maintaining the perception that the two companies were still affiliated in 2012, and that Starbucks coffee could still be brewed in the Tassimo coffeemakers. According to the Starbucks class action lawsuit, Montgomery purchased a Tassimo coffeemaker but soon found out that Starbucks no longer made T-discs that would work with the appliance.

On Monday, a unanimous three-judge panel ruled that a lower court did not err when it dismissed Montgomery’s warranty claims from the Tassimo class action lawsuit because Montgomery failed to plead she had a contractual relationship with the defendants as required under Michigan law.

The panel found that Montgomery’s warranty claims failed because she purchased her Tassimo coffeemaker from a grocery store instead of purchasing it directly from the defendants. Therefore, she was unable to allege she was in privity with the defendants as required to properly plead her breach of express warranty claim.

Montgomery claims that the Tassimo coffeemaker packaging features Starbucks coffee and invites consumers to enjoy Starbucks coffee “one perfectly brewed cup at a time.” However, the panel found that Montgomery didn’t adequately allege that the coffeemaker failed to live up to the promise of Starbucks coffee when she purchased it.

“Instead, she alleged that ‘[a]fter the system was purchased, with time it became increasingly difficult and impossible to find and purchase the Starbucks [T-discs],” according to the appellate panel.

In May 2014, a Michigan federal judge denied certification to the Tassimo Starbucks class action lawsuit because the complaint did not adequately show that the majority of people who purchased the Tassimo coffeemakers expected to be able to brew Starbucks coffee.

The 6th Circuit refused to reverse the lower court’s decision to deny certification because Montgomery’s certification bid was reportedly mooted when she accepted the defendants’ offer of judgment, including attorneys’ fees and costs.

Montgomery is represented by Timothy H. McCarthy Jr. of the McCarthy Law Group PC.

The Tassimo Starbucks T-Disc Class Action Lawsuit is Montgomery v. Kraft Foods Global Inc., et al., Case No. 15-1283, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.