Eight O’Clock Coffee Class Action Says Customers are Short-Changed

A New York man says the Eight O’Clock Coffee Company has been scamming consumers by underfilling its bags of coffee.

Plaintiff Adam Sorgenti claims Eight O’ Clock Coffee has been purposely underfilling bags of certain varieties of its coffee and labeling them with a stated weight of 12 ounces.

He says this practice violates provisions of the New York General Business Law that prohibit false advertising and deceptive business practices.

Sorgenti alleges that Eight O’Clock Coffee sells its many different varieties of coffee in the same type of bag, with labeling indicating the bag contains 12 ounces of coffee by weight.

He notes that since these bags are opaque, consumers can’t visually determine how much coffee is inside.

The plaintiff says that some varieties of Eight O’Clock coffee – such as Eight O’Clock The Original, among others – are packed consistent with that labeling of a full 12 ounces of product.

But the same is not true for other varieties, he alleges.

Sorgenti claims that Eight O’Clock Coffee underfills the bags of certain varieties by as much as a full ounce, or 8 1/3 percent of the product’s stated weight.

In this Eight O’Clock Coffee class action lawsuit, Sorgenti specifically claims coffees in Eight O’Clock Coffee’s “Explorations” lines – namely, 100% Colombian Peaks, Central Highlands, and African Plains coffees – are filled with only 11 ounces per bag, despite the labeling that promises 12 ounces.

He alleges the same is true for certain flavored coffees in the company’s “Expressions” lines. Similarly labeled bags of Eight O’Clock Coffee’s Dark Italian Espresso and Dark Italian Roast contain only 11.5 ounces of coffee, he claims.

Contributing to the alleged deception, Sorgenti says, the supposedly underfilled bags are shelved at the store right next to the fully-filled bags.

From the outside, all these bags appear to be the same size, giving consumers the impression they all contain the same amount of coffee, he says.

If certified by the court, Sorgenti’s proposed New York Class will include all persons who bought bags of certain specific varieties of Eight O’Clock coffee that actually weighed 11 or 11.5 ounces instead of 12, without later reselling those bags.

The specific varieties allegedly sold in 11-ounce portions are Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Caramel Mocchiata, The Chocolate Mint, The Dark Chocolate, 100% Colombian Peaks, Central Highlands, and African Plains.

The specific varieties allegedly sold in 11.5 ounce portion are Dark Italian Espresso and Dark Italian Roast.

Sorgenti seeks an award of up to triple the amount of damages that he and the other Class Members suffered as a result of the alleged mislabeling, plus reimbursement of his attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation.

He also seeks an injunction preventing Eight O’Clock Coffee from continuing to make any representations that violate the New York General Business Law.

Attorneys for the plaintiff are Jeffrey I. Carton and Robert J. Berg of Denlea & Carton LLP.

The Eight O’Clock Coffee False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Adam Sorgenti v. Eight O’Clock Coffee Co., Case No. 7:16-cv-6295, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.