New England Coffee Class Action Challenges Hazelnut Coffee Labeling

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Earlier this week, Reily Foods Company and its subsidiary New England Coffee Company were hit with a class action lawsuit accusing them of falsely advertising their hazelnut coffee because it is artificially flavored and allegedly contains no hazelnuts.

Plaintiff Kathy Dumont says she purchased New England Coffee Company’s  Hazelnut Crème Coffee.

According to the hazelnut flavored coffee class action lawsuit, the front of the package indicated that the Hazelnut Creme Coffee product was a medium blend with a rich nutty flavor.

Dumont claims that the label led her to believe that the Hazelnut Crème Coffee contained enough hazelnut as an ingredient to give it the nutty flavor.

“In truth, however, the Hazelnut Crème Coffee contains none of its characterizing ingredient, and instead is both artificially and naturally flavored,” the hazelnut coffee class action lawsuit states.

Dumont says that companies are legally required to make a disclosure on the front of a package of a food product that a consumer reasonably expects would contain its characterizing ingredient if the product does not actually contain the characterizing ingredient but is instead flavored to taste like the ingredient.

“Failure to do so misleads reasonable consumers into believing they are purchasing an item with qualities it does not have, and is in clear violation of the law,” Dumont alleges in the flavored coffee class action lawsuit.

She says there was no indication on the front of the package that the Hazelnut Creme coffee did not contain any hazelnuts as an ingredient. According to the flavored coffee class action lawsuit, the only indication that the product contained no hazelnuts was the following statement, which was located in tiny print in the far-left corner of the back label: “Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee Naturally and Artificially Flavored.”

The hazelnut flavored coffee class action lawsuit accuses the companies of violating the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act (FDCA), which was enacted to protect consumers from misbranded food and beverage products. This federal law prohibits companies from using false or misleading labels to deceive consumers about the characteristics of their products.

“Properly indicating that a coffee is flavored is not only a legal requirement, but it is a material term on which a reasonable consumer would rely,” Dumont says in the hazelnut coffee class action lawsuit.

Dumont points to competing flavored coffee products which include statements on the front of the label disclosing the products are artificially flavored, as required by the FDCA and Massachusetts law.

The hazelnut coffee class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dumont and a proposed Class of consumers who purchased New England Coffee Company coffees that contain natural and/or artificial flavors, but which fail to indicate on the front label that the coffee is flavored.

Dumont is represented by John Longo of Citadel Commercial Litigation PC, Michael D. Braun of Braun Law Group, Andrew S. Kierstead of the Law Office of Andrew Kierstead, and Peter N. Wasylyk of the Law Offices of Peter N. Wasylyk.

The New England Coffee Company Class Action Lawsuit is Kathy Dumont v. Reily Foods Co., et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-10907, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.