A class action lawsuit has been brought against Wal-Mart in Hamilton County, Ohio on behalf of all consumers of craft beer.
The lawsuit charges that ???Through a fraudulent, unlawful, deceptive and unfair course of conduct,??? Wal-Mart ??? manufactured, marketed, and/or sold four lines of Craft Beers to residents of Ohio and 44 other states ???with the false representation that the Craft Beer is in fact a ???craft beer??? when, in actuality, nothing about the Defendant is ???small, independent and traditional??? to qualify it as an American craft brewer per the Brewers Association.???
The litigation, filed by Matthew Adam of Cincinnati, Ohio, says that Wal-Mart has been selling its own line of Craft Beer since 2016, available in 3,000 stores across 45 states. According to the legal filing, the number of craft breweries increased from approximately 250 in 1989 to more than 5,005 in 2016???but Wal-Mart isn???t using any of them.
Wal-Mart???s Craft Beer ???has never been a ???craft beer???, nor has it been produced by craft brewery. Rather, it is a wholesale fiction created by the Defendant that was designed to deceive consumers into purchasing the Craft Beer at a higher, inflated price.???
The lawsuit defines Craft Beer as one made by a craft brewer that is “small, independent and traditional,” that produces less than 6 million barrels of beer annually, is less than 25% owned or controlled by a non-craft brewer, and is made using only traditional or innovative brewing ingredients.???
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against Wal-Mart from selling their beer as ???craft beer,??? and a declaration that the retailer has engaged in ???deceptive and misleading advertising, labeling and sale of Craft Beer, negligent misrepresentation, and has been unjustly enriched.???
I???ll drink to that!
To see the original story, and get a pdf of the 13 page lawsuit that was filed, go to this link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-walmart-craft-beer-lawsuit-20170215-story.html
And buy real craft beer anywhere but Wal-Mart. Save money, buy the real stuff.
A class action lawsuit has been brought against Wal-Mart in Hamilton County, Ohio on behalf of all consumers of craft beer.
