Weber BBQ Sauce Class Action Dismissed Following Offer of Refund

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A federal judge has dismissed a Weber BBQ Sauce class action lawsuit, finding that the defendant’s offer of a refund left the plaintiff with no allegations to sue over.

U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin determined that by sending plaintiff Joseph Demmler a $75 check as an unconditional response to his demand for compensation, defendant ACH Food Companies Inc. had mooted Demmler’s claim.

According to the court’s order, ACH produces barbecue sauces under the Weber brand in five different flavors: Original BBQ Sauce, Buzz’N Honey BBQ Sauce, Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce, Real Molasses BBQ Sauce, and Kick’N Spicy BBQ Sauce.

All of these flavors are packaged with labeling that includes the words “All Natural” in large type.

Demmler takes issue with the presence of caramel color in the ingredient list. He says he bought these products in December 2014 in reliance on that representation that they were “All Natural.”

He argues that the presence of caramel color in these products makes the “All Natural” designation false and misleading.

Judge Sorokin noted the parties did not dispute the facts surrounding the mootness question. Before initiating this Weber BBQ Sauce class action lawsuit, Demmler had his attorney send ACH a demand letter seeking damages, injunctive relief, costs and attorneys’ fees on behalf of not just Demmler but also that of “a class of all persons similarly situated.”

ACH responded with a $75 check and an accompanying letter stating that the check was “the extent of [ACH’s] willingness to compromise in the circumstances.”

Demmler refused the offer. After several rounds of letters between the parties, Demmler filed the current Weber BBQ Sauce class action lawsuit.

Judge Sorokin found that ACH’s $75 check mooted Demmler’s claim because it offered him all the compensation he had demanded. The amount tendered was more than three times the damage amount Demmler had demanded and was comparable to the value of at least 20 bottles of Weber BBQ Sauce, the judge noted.

Demmler’s rejection of the offer did not prevent his claim from being mooted, the judge said. The operative question is “whether a live case or controversy exists, and the mere fact that Demmler did not accept unconditionally provided remediation does not extend the life of the dispute.”

The judge also noted in passing that Demmler is not seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, presumably because ACH had discontinued the products at issue even before it received Demmler’s first demand letter.

Before it was dismissed, the Weber BBQ Sauce class action lawsuit sought an award of the greater of actual or statutory damages, restitution of profits gained from the alleged false advertisement, and reimbursement of costs and attorneys’ fees.

Plaintiff’s counsel are David Pastor of Pastor Law Office LLP; Jeffrey S. Feinberg of the Feinberg Law Firm; and James C. Shah, Scott R. Shepherd and Nathan C. Zipperian of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP.

The Weber BBQ Sauce False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph Demmler v. ACH Food Companies Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-13556, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.