Coca-Cola Drinkers Seek Class Cert. in Artificial Ingredients Class Action

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Soda drinkers asked a federal judge to certify their proposed Class in a lawsuit alleging Coca-Cola orchestrated a misleading marketing campaign about the preservatives and artificial flavors in its products.

Lead plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation allege that Coke drinkers around the country have been misled into thinking Coca-Cola was a natural and healthy beverage, when the soda actually includes ingredients like phosphoric acid. The plaintiffs take issue with statements on product packaging that states “No artificial flavors. No preservatives added.”

The consolidated class action has dodged several attempts to put the soda drinkers’ claims on ice, dodging several motions to dismiss. The class action was trimmed in 2016, but the case has moved along. The plaintiffs have also gone on the offensive, accusing Coca-Cola of delaying litigation to let other cases work their way through the justice system and to stymie the discovery process.

The plaintiffs argue that now is the time to certify their proposed Class of Coca-Cola buyers who they alleged were misled by the beverage giant into believing the product contained no artificial ingredients or preservatives.

“There are numerous common questions, the answers to which will resolve the classes’ members’ claims in one stroke,” say the plaintiffs in their motion to certify the Class. “If Coke was misbranded, it was misbranded nationwide and in [its] entirety.”

The plaintiffs are seeking to represent Classes of Coke buyers in California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida.

According to the class action plaintiffs, the misleading marketing campaign was based on the popular drink’s creator, John Pemberton. The plaintiffs allege that the Pemberton campaign deceived consumers by claiming that the fizzy brown drink was made from the creator’s original formula with no preservatives added since 1886.

“The Original Formula Claim reinforced these material misrepresentations and omissions, given that it suggested that Coke maintained John Pemberton’s ‘original’ 1886 formula purportedly free of artificial flavors and preservatives,” allege the plaintiffs in their motion. “This triad of false statements and material omissions were material to Coca-Cola’s strategy of advertising Coke as free from unhealthy additives.”

The plaintiffs also attacked Coca-Cola’s expert who argued that an individual’s choice to buy the bubbly beverage would not be affected by the Pemberton campaign. The expert, argue the plaintiffs, ignored current attitudes about artificial ingredients and preservatives and also did not disclose that phosphoric acid is a preservative to consumers surveyed about their Coca-Cola buying decisions.

At a minimum, say the class action plaintiffs in their motion urging certification, the expert’s opinions are best left to the jury.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys John W. Barrett and Richard Barrett of Barrett Law Group PA, Keith M. Fleischman, Joshua D. Glatter and June Park of Fleischman Law Firm PLLC and Ben F. Pierce Gore of Pratt & Associates.

The Coca-Cola Artificial Ingredients Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Coca-Cola Product Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation (No. II), Case No. 4:14-md-02555-JSW, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Feb. 14, 2020, a California federal judge partially certified a class action lawsuit filed against The Coca-Cola Co. by consumers who say Coke’s “no artificial flavors” labels are misleading.