Prop. 65 Violation Claims Leveled Against Alcoholic Beverage Makers
A three-attorney, Pasadena, California-based law firm has filed numerous
60-day notice letters since March 2013 to companies that make alcoholic
beverages, warning that they have failed to comply with a section of the
Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop. 65) by selling
without the required warnings (i) “alcoholic beverages, when associated with
alcohol abuse,” (ii) “ethyl alcohol in alcoholic beverages,” and (iii) “ethanol in
alcoholic beverages.”
The letters, filed on behalf of John Bonilla, Rafael Delgado, Jesse Garrett,
and Rachel Padilla, assert that the companies have sold their products in the
state without first indicating to consumers under “Title 27, CCR § 25603(e)(1):
‘WARNING: Drinking Distilled Spirits, Beer, Coolers, Wine and Other Alcoholic
Beverages May Increase Cancer Risk, and, During Pregnancy, Can Cause Birth
Defects.’”
According to a news source, four individuals have filed Prop. 65 violation lawsuits in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Anheuser-Busch and nearly every other major brewery failed to post proper warnings. There is no indication in state records that the state attorney general or local prosecutors accepted the law firm’s invitation to file an enforcement action. See Courthouse News Service, February 25, 2014.
Issue 515
