Canada Dry ‘Made From Real Ginger’ Lawsuit Granted Class Cert.

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The plaintiffs in a Dr. Pepper Canada Dry class action lawsuit won certification of their proposed Class of consumers who they say were duped by advertising that the fizzy beverage was “made from real ginger.”

The Canada Dry class action lawsuit claims that Canada Dry is falsely advertised by the beverage maker as being “made from Real Ginger,” when, in fact, it contains a chemical flavor compound that makes the drink taste of ginger, but does not actually contain ginger root.

Dr. Pepper fought the plaintiff’s motion for certification of the Canada Dry class action lawsuit, but lost.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins found that research conducted by the beverage maker showed that the advertising claims that the product is made from real ginger was noted as a reason why many consumers purchased the ginger ale.

“Clearly, if a quarter of Canada Dry consumers were listing the ginger claim as a top five reason why they bought the product, the claim is material. Dr Pepper cannot walk back evidence contained in its own documents,” pointed out Judge Cousins in his order.

Dr. Pepper also argued that the Dr. Pepper Canada Dry false advertising class action lawsuit should not be granted Class certification because there is no way to know if consumers understood the marketing claim to mean that actual ginger root was in the product. Judge Cousins rejected this argument as well.

“The court notes that such material alleged misrepresentations were made here to the entire class, because no Canada Dry purchaser was not exposed to the alleged misrepresentation. Therefore, the standard requires only that the court find there is a probability that reasonable consumers could be misled, not that they all believed ‘Made From Real Ginger’ means the same thing,” stated that order granting Class certification in the Dr. Pepper Canada Dry class action lawsuit.

The beverage maker also pointed out some problems with the expert evidence in the Canada Dry false advertising class action lawsuit. Although Judge Cousin’s echoed their concern about some of the evidence, he determined that these problems were not enough to defeat certification of the proposed Class.

“To the extent that plaintiffs’ expert evidence is imperfect, these imperfections go to the weight of the evidence, not the admissibility,” noted the order.

According to the Dr. Pepper Canada Dry class action lawsuit, independent testing of the popular beverage showed that there was no “detectable” amount of ginger present. The plaintiff argued that she and other consumers relied on representations right on the packaging that the product was made from real ginger when deciding to purchase the product.

Further, alleges the Dr. Pepper Canada Dry false advertising class action lawsuit, ginger root is known to have health benefits, and the beverage maker capitalized on these perceived benefits; however, the amount of ginger in Canada Dry does not confer any benefit.

The consumers are represented by Adam J. Gutride, Seth A. Safier, Marie A. McCrary, and Matthew T. McCrary of Gutride Safier LLP and Hovanes Margarin of the Margarin Law Firm.

The Dr. Pepper Canada Dry False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Jackie Fitzhenry-Russell, et al. v. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc., et al., Case No. 5:17-cv-00564, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: February 2019, the Canada Dry Ginger Ale class action settlement is now open. File a claim here. 

UPDATE 2: On July 5, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks for up to $22.40 as a result of the Canada Dry class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!