Beck’s Beer False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Survives Challenge

A judge is allowing a Beck’s beer false advertising class action lawsuit to continue in full save for injunctive relief, deciding that a reasonable consumer could be misled as to where the product is made.

A group of consumers from California, Florida and New York allege that they purchased the beer thinking that it was German, which it had been until 2012. They say that they rely on labeling that references the beer’s heritage including “Originated in Germany” with “German Quality” while “Brewed Under the German Purity Law of 1516.” The defendants argued that there were two “Product of USA” labels, one on the bottle or can and one on the carton.

However, the judge decided that it was unreasonable for the buyer to open up the carton for such information and the label is obscured otherwise. Even in single servings, it is “difficult to read … [and] can be obscured by overhead lighting.” The order denying the motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit also took aim at the labeling claims above, arguing that it was unclear at this point whether or not Beck’s beer was made pursuant to the purity law of 1516.

Other tactics Anheuser-Busch used included calling “German Quality” puffery, or language that is meaningless. U.S. District Judge John J. O’Sullivan noted that would make sense except that he could not assess its importance “in a vacuum” and must be assessed along with the other claims set forth in the class action lawsuit. When done so, he wrote that the whole package could plausibly mislead a consumer about where the beer was brewed.

Anheuser-Busch also claimed that the damages model would be impossible because the consumers got what they asked for: beer. Judge O’Sullivan agreed that if the plaintiffs were accurate that they paid more than they would have otherwise, the difference constituted an economic injury. However, since none plan on buying the beer in the future, they cannot seek an injunction requiring a change in the language to reduce future possibilities of false advertising.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action attorneys by Lance A. Harke and Howard Mitchell Bushman of Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP and Thomas A. Tucker Ronzetti, David R. Matz and Adam M. Moskowitz of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton PA.

The Beck’s Beer False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Marty, et al. v. Anheuser-Busch Cos. LLC, Case No. 13-cv-23656, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: Instructions about how to file a claim for the Beck’s beer class action settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.BecksBeerSettlement.com for details.

UPDATE 2: The Beck’s beer class action settlement was granted final approval on Oct. 20, 2015.

UPDATE 3: On Apr. 20, 2016, the Beck’s Beer Class Action Settlement is currently under appeal.  Claims will not be paid until all appeals are exhausted.  We appreciate your ongoing  patience. Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.  Keep checking back and let us know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

UPDATE 4: On Apr. 27, 2016, a viewer reported receiving the following message from the Settlement Administrator: “The appeals process has recently been resolved. We do not have an estimated distribution date, but we are prepping for a Class Distribution within the next month or so.”  Top Class Actions will continue to provide updates as we learn more.  Keep checking back and let us know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

UPDATE 5: On July 2, 2016, Top Class Actions readers who filed a claim for the Beck’s beer class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $12. 

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