PEORIA, Ill. (Legal Newsline) - Anheuser-Busch faces a class action lawsuit over claims its Agave Spiked Seltzer can't contain claims it is made from 100% blue agave.
Rebecca Read filed a federal complaint on September 11 in the Central District of Illinois Peoria Division against Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc., for violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, fraud and other claims.
According to the complaint, Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc. manufactures, labels, markets, and sells “Agave Spiked Seltzer,” under the Cacti brand as “made with 100% Premium Blue Agave from Mexico and Natural Flavors for a Refreshing and Bold Taste.”
The labeling and marketing of the product emphasize the agave plant, through words and pictures, including on the front of the cans. Federal regulations define “Agave spirits” as “distilled from a fermented mash, of which at least 51% is derived from plant species in the genus Agave and up to 49% is derived from other sugars.”
Agave spirits “must be distilled at less than 95 percent alcohol by volume (190 proof) and bottled at or above 40 percent alcohol by volume (80° proof)," the suit says. Read alleges that because Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc. does not follow the practices set forth by the federal regulations, the seltzer does not, and cannot, be sold and labeled as deriving from 100% Premium Blue Agave.
Read seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief by directing Defendant to correct the challenged practices to comply with the law; injunctive relief to remove, correct and/or refrain from the challenged practices and representations; restitution and disgorgement for members; monetary damages; statutory and/or punitive damages; costs; and expenses. Read is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan and Associates, P.C.
U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois Peoria Division case number 1:21-cv-01261-JES-JEH