Anheuser-Busch Settles Beck’s® False Origin Suit

Anheuser-Busch has settled a class action alleging that the company
misrepresented Beck’s® beer as brewed in Germany after a 2012 move
to a St. Louis brewing facility. Marty v. Anheuser-Busch Cos., LLC, No.
13-23656 (S.D. Fla., preliminary approval entered June 23, 2015). The
uncapped settlement will provide payouts to U.S. purchasers of bottles or
packages of Beck’s® since May 2011, with a $50 limit for households with
proofs of purchase and $12 limit for those without. Anheuser-Busch will
include the phrase “Brewed in USA” or “Product of USA” on the bottles,
boxes and website for at least five years. Plaintiffs’ attorneys will receive
$3.5 million. Details about a similar lawsuit Anheuser-Busch settled
about the origin of Kirin® beer in January 2015 appear in Issue 550 of
this Update.

Issue 570