Manhattan Beer Class Action Alleges Company Dupes Small Businesses Into Paying Extra Bottle Deposit Fee

Manhattan Beer Deposit Fee Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Cap 111 Enterprises LLC filed a class action lawsuit against Manhattan Beer Distributors LLC and its founder Simon Bergson.
• Why: Cap 111 claims Manhattan Beer unlawfully charges its small business wholesale customers an extra 10 cents for 24-bottle purchases.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.

Manhattan Beer tricks its small business wholesale customers into paying an extra 10 cents for 24-bottle orders, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Cap 111 Enterprises claims Manhattan Beer has earned millions of dollars by charging small businesses what it claims is a fraudulent bottle deposit charge.

Cap 111 argues customers should only be required to pay a $1.20 deposit for a 24-bottle case of beer, as dictated by the New York State Returnable Container Act of 1982 — also known as the “Bottle Bill.” 

The Bottle Bill requires beer distributors to charge a 5 cent deposit fee per bottle, according to the class action lawsuit; however, Cap 111 claims Manhattan Beer adds an extra 10-cent fee, which it allegedly hides inside the deposit charge.

“By intermingling this 10-cent charge in the line item for state-mandated charges, Manhattan Beer’s invoices lead reasonable consumers to believe that the extra 10-cent charge is part of a state-mandated bottle deposit,” the class action lawsuit states.

Cap 111, a limited liability corporation that operated a small restaurant in New York from 2015 to 2018, wants to represent a nationwide class of Manhattan Beer customers who paid a $1.30 deposit fee while purchasing a 24-bottle case of bottled beer from the company. 

Cap 111 claims Manhattan Beer not only understands its billing practices are “fraudulent” and “unlawful,” but that the company exclusively takes advantage of small businesses. 

“Indeed, upon information and belief, Manhattan Beer does not charge its more sophisticated customers, such as supermarkets, the extra 10 cents on 24-bottle cases,” the class action lawsuit states. 

Manhattan Beer ‘Preys’ On Small Businesses With Extra Charge

Cap 111 argues Manhattan Beer knows better than to try and “pull a fast one” on its large customers, choosing instead to prey “on the small businesses that rely on the giant distributor to do the right thing when it comes to billing.” 

Customers in the New York metropolitan area, meanwhile, have no choice but to purchase many of the most popular beers from Manhattan Beer, which owns distribution rights that make it “the only game in town,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

“Thus, small businesses like Plaintiff end up locked into buying from Manhattan Beer, and in doing so innocently pay fraudulent deposit charges to a company with annual sales that exceed one billion dollars a year,” the class action lawsuit states. 

Cap 111 claims Manhattan Beer is in violation of New York General Business Law and guilty of unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and common law fraud. 

Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with punitive damages for themselves and all class members. 

Last month, Markstein Beverage Co. agreed to a class action settlement in order to resolve claims it charged late fees on liquor and beer contracts that were excessive. 

Have you paid a $1.30 deposit for a 24-bottle order from Manhattan Beer? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Steven L. Wittels, J. Burkett McInturff and Ethan D. Roman of Wittels McInturff Palikovic. 

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