From CARIBBEAN360

CALIFORNIA, United States, Monday August 3, 2015 – A class-action suit has been filed against the manufacturers of Red Stripe beer in the United States, accusing them of deceiving consumers that the beverage is made in and imported from Jamaica.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, reaching a preliminary settlement with a group of consumers who said the company misled them into thinking that Beck’s beer was German brewed.

Two people represented by the law firm of Robbins Arroyo have filed a suit in federal court in San Diego against Diageo, the makers of Red Stripe, a historically Jamaican beer, saying they “committed unfair and deceptive practices and have been unjustly enriched by marketing and selling beer in a way that misleads consumers into believing that Red Stripe is still imported from Jamaica”.

“In particular, Red Stripe’s packaging claims that it is a ‘Jamaican Style Lager’ that contains ‘The Taste of Jamaica’ and the packaging contains the distinctive logo of Desnoes and Geddes Limited (D&G), a Jamaican brewery,” states the claim filed on July 29.

In addition, it says the company states on Red Stripe bottles that, “For Over 80 years . . . Red Stripe® has embodied the spirit, rhythm and pulse of Jamaica and its people”.

The plaintiffs further charge that Red Stripe is sold at substantially higher prices than domestic beer, despite the fact that it is brewed in the US with domestic ingredients.

Red Stripe is brewed and bottled by Red Stripe Beer Company of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, as stated on the border of the bottle. But Arroyo’s clients say it’s in “obscure white text” and not easily noticed by consumers.

In late June, a federal judge in Miami, Florida gave preliminary approval for a settlement proposal by Anheuser-Busch that included a refund to customers who bought Beck’s beer from May 2011, in a lawsuit which claimed the brewer used deceptive labeling to mislead customers into believing the Beck’s beer it sold in the US was made in Germany.

That settlement that includes a refund to customers who bought Beck’s beer beginning in May 2011.

It will have to pay around $3.5 million in legal fees while Beck’s drinkers who produce valid receipts can claim a refund of up to $50. Those without receipts can claim up to $12.

The company also agreed to adjust the labelling on the beer. Although production of the beverage in the US market moved to St Louis, Missouri in 2012, the packaging continued to highlight its German ancestry with phrases such as “originated in Bremen” and “German quality”.

IMAGE: red stripe beer
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