SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Molson Coors has chosen to settle rather than fight class action lawsuits brought by hard seltzer drinkers who thought the products would be more nutritious.
They read on packages of Vizzy seltzers that the drinks alcoholic drinks were made "with Antioxidant Vitamin C from acerola superfruit." Their lawsuits allege the seltzers provided only 20% of recommended daily intake of vitamin C per 12 ounce can and alcohol consumption interferes with nutrient absorption.
Last year, Judge William Orrick refused to toss the claims, finding reasonable consumers could have been misled.
A proposed settlement announced Jan. 13 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California would end lawsuits filed in California, Illinois and Florida by Gutride Safier, Sheehan & Associates and The Wright Law Office.
Molson Coors is paying $9.5 million, with $2.5 million of that going to attorneys.
The settlement is on behalf of a nationwide class and would resolve claims under California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New York, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida laws.
The settlement includes an injunction that will take the vitamin C claims off the packaging. Class members who kept their receipts or other proofs of purchase will get $5 per 24 pack, $3 per 12 pack and $.75 for single cans.
"All claimants that submit a valid claim are entitled to a minimum cash payment of $6," the settlement says. "However, the actual cash payment received may be reduced pro rata depending on the number of valid claims and the cost of other expenses paid out of the settlement fund."
Without a receipt, class members can claim a maximum of $15 per household. For incentive awards to the named plaintiffs, the settlement would pay a total of $35,000.
Lawyers would take an additional $70,000 from the settlement fund for their out-of-pocket expenses.
Attorneys for Molson Coors had argued reasonable customers would not think drinking a hard seltzer is healthy or the same as eating a piece of fruit.
“This argument ignores the FDA’s own guidance that fortification of alcoholic beverages could be false and misleading,” Orrick wrote.
“It also ignores the disputes of fact about how reasonable consumers would interpret the phrase ‘with Antioxidant Vitamin C from acerola superfruit.’ As plaintiffs point out, that statement is prominent on all of the Vizzy packaging and featured prominently in marketing materials to distinguish Vizzy from its competitors.”