Coffee Co. Faces Slack-Fill Putative Class Action

A consumer has filed a putative class action against Eight O’Clock
Coffee, a subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages, alleging the company
sells varieties of coffee in identical bags but fills them to different
levels, amounting to impermissible slack-fill. Sorgenti v. Eight O’Clock
Coffee Co., No. 16-6295 (S.D.N.Y., filed August 9, 2016). The complaint
compares Eight O’Clock’s “iconic red flexible metallic bag” filled with 12
ounces of its basic coffee product to the “same sized bags” of its Explorations
line—including 100% Colombian Peaks, Central Highlands and
African Plains varieties—which contain 11 ounces of product. In addition,
other product lines contain 11.5 ounces of product but are sold in the
same red packaging, the plaintiff alleges.

“As a consequence, consumers are being misled into believing that they
are buying a larger volume of Eight O’Clock Coffee’s specialty coffee
products than is actually contained in the bag,” the complaint asserts.
“And more significantly, consumers are unwittingly paying substantially
more per ounce for the Eight O’Clock Coffee specialty coffee product
alternatives, allowing Eight O’Clock Coffee to collect a premium that it
is otherwise failing to disclose to consumers.” For alleged violations of
New York’s General Business Law, the plaintiff seeks class certification,
damages, an injunction and attorney’s fees.

Issue 615