Diageo defeats false labeling lawsuit over '100% agave' tequilas
DEO•A federal judge dismissed a proposed class action alleging Diageo falsely labeled its Casamigos and Don Julio tequilas as “100% agave,” finding the plaintiffs failed to show how they were harmed.
1. Case dismissed
U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall in Brooklyn dismissed the lawsuit brought by tequila buyers and restaurants, who claimed they paid higher prices for deceptively marketed products. The judge said evidence based on five samples did not allow a reasonable inference of “ubiquitous, systemic mislabeling.”
2. Plaintiffs may seek review
Diageo said it was “gratified” that the court rejected the plaintiffs’ adulteration allegations. The plaintiffs’ lawyer said the ruling “gets the record wrong” and that they may ask the court to reconsider; the plaintiffs also said independent laboratory testing found the tequilas were not made entirely from agave. The judge had paused several related federal lawsuits while awaiting the decision.
