Maker’s Mark Not ‘Handmade,’ Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

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A group of California residents says that they were misled by the packaging on a popular Kentucky bourbon and are seeking damages in a new Maker’s Mark false labeling class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs allege that they bought Maker’s Mark whiskey based on the representation that the spirit was handmade as labeled on the product. However, the Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit alleges that in numerous instances during the manufacturing process, the company actually uses machinery. Therefore, the putative Class Members allegedly suffered an economic injury because they would not have paid a premium price for Maker’s Mark had they known of this fact.

The Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit relies heavily upon the company’s own website which includes a video describing the distillation process. For example, the class action lawsuit notes that the Maker’s Mark “old antique roller mill” is “powered by to electronically driven motors … and controlled by a set of electronic control panels.” As the process is continued and the batch then distilled, the plaintiffs allege that during each step machines are used in order to provide the volume necessary for the company to reach its production goals.

In addition, the plaintiffs argue that “ironically, even the labeling of the bottles, which contains the alleged ‘Handmade’ statement, is achieved by a mechanized and/or automated process.” They point to the “Tour Video,” available on the website, to support their false advertising claims.

“The Tour Video also shows that all, or nearly all, of these machines are connected by an elaborate system of pipes and have an electronic control panel which controls the machine without human intervention, as the machines are shown functioning in the video without human supervision or intervention,” the Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit alleges.

The Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit notes that people have been known to pay a premium because “Mechanization of course sacrifices quality, as machines cannot exercise the skill and care of a human craftsman.” The plaintiffs are seeking damages on violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law as well as negligent and intentional misrepresentation. They seek to certify a putative Class of all California residents who purchased a Maker’s Mark whiskey product in the preceding four years.

The plaintiffs are represented by Abbas Kazerounian and Mona Amini of Kazerouni Law Group APC and by Joshua B. Swigart of Hyde & Swigart.

The Maker’s Mark False Labeling Class Action Lawsuit is Safora Nowrouzi, et al. v. Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-02885, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: A federal judge dismissed a similar Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit (Dimitric Salters v. Beam Suntory Inc.), saying “no reasonable consumer” would believe that a mass-produced bourbon like Maker’s Mark could be made entirely by hand. This case (Nowrouzi v. Maker’s Mark) is still pending.

UPDATE 2: On July 27, 2015, this Maker’s Mark class action lawsuit (Nowrouzi v. Maker’s Mark) was dismissed.