A 33-year-old man has filed a personal injury lawsuit in a Texas federal court against companies that made and sold the Four Loko® that allegedly caused the stroke he had in October 2010 immediately after consuming two cans of the caffeinated alcohol beverage. Villa v. Phusion Projects, LLC, No. __ (S.D. Texas, filed mid-July 2010). According to the complaint, the plaintiff continues to experience health problems, including slurred speech and lack of balance. Alleging negligence and products liability, the plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $75,000, punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.
Tag Archives caffeine
Insurance companies with policies covering Phusion Projects, Inc., which makes the caffeinated alcohol beverage Four Loko®, have filed a summary judgment motion in their declaratory judgment action against the company, claiming that a policy exclusion unambiguously frees them from defending or indemnifying the beverage maker. The Netherlands Ins. Co. v. Phusion Projects, Inc., No. 11-1253 (N.D. Ill., filed June 22, 2011). The companies contend that their commercial general liability and commercial umbrella policies have liquor liability exclusions that apply to actions pending in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey alleging that “Four Loko caused a particularly dangerous kind of intoxication” and seeking monetary damages for deaths and injuries. Details about a similar insurance coverage lawsuit involving other insurers appear in Issue 396 of this Update.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a report warning that children and adolescents should not consume energy drinks because the beverages “pose potential health risks.” Titled “Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?”, the report appears in the June 2011 issue of Pediatrics. Sports drinks and energy drinks are not the same, the report says, noting that sports drinks contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes, and flavoring intended to replace water and electrolytes lost through sweating during exercise. “Sports drinks can be helpful for young athletes engages in prolonged, vigorous physical activities, but in most cases they are unnecessary on the sports field or the school lunchroom,” according to the report. Energy drinks, however, “are never appropriate for children or adolescents,” and should be avoided because they contain stimulants, such as caffeine, guarana and taurine, the report says. “Caffeine—by far the most popular stimulant—has been…
Selective Insurance Co. of South Carolina has filed a declaratory judgment action against Phusion Projects, Inc., which makes and sells the caffeinated alcohol beverage Four Loko®, claiming that it owes no duty to defend or indemnify Phusion in a number of pending lawsuits. Selective Ins. Co. of S. Car. v. Phusion Projects Inc., No. 11-03378 (N.D. Ill., filed May 19, 2011). The lawsuits involve claims that the product was responsible for teenagers’ deaths or injury, its promotions violated consumer protection laws, and the product’s packaging infringed trade dress. According to the insurer, (i) its policy was not in effect as to some of the plaintiffs, whose alleged injuries occurred either before the policy took effect or after the insurer cancelled the policy; and (ii) the policy’s terms expressly or unambiguously preclude coverage for certain claims, including those involving intoxication. The insurer seeks a declaration that the policy does not provide coverage for…
According to a news source, the family of a teenager has sued Phusion Projects, which makes the alcohol energy drink Four Loko®, alleging that their son’s disorientation after drinking two of the beverages led to his fatal accident. Rupp v. Phusion Projects, No. __ (Ill. Cir. Ct., Cook Cty., filed May 19, 2011). He allegedly consumed the beverage during a concert in 2010, and his parents picked him up after concert staff contacted them claiming the boy “appeared extremely intoxicated.” The family alleges that their son acted “paranoid and disoriented” on the ride home and took off running when they arrived home. He apparently died when he was struck by a car after running onto a busy highway. The family reportedly alleges in the wrongful death lawsuit that the company “was careless and negligent in formulating a caffeinated, alcoholic beverage that desensitizes users to the symptoms of intoxication, and increases…
According to news sources, a New Jersey tire salesman has filed a personal injury lawsuit in a state court against the company that makes Four Loko®, an alcoholic beverage that until late 2010 also contained caffeine; he alleges that after drinking two and one-half cans, he was taken to a hospital with heart arrhythmia. Mustica v. Phusion Projects, No. __ (N.J. Super. Ct., Atlantic Cty., filed March 16, 2011). Each can purportedly contained the equivalent of three cans of beer and the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee. While the maker of the energy drink apparently continues to maintain that mixing alcohol and caffeine is safe, it agreed to remove caffeine from the product in November 2010. The plaintiff claims that he consumed the beverage on a visit to Atlantic City in October, fell asleep and, on waking, had a racing heart and trouble breathing. Alleging permanent…
A California resident has filed a putative class action against the companies that make, distribute and sell Four Loko®, a 6- to 12-percent alcoholic beverage with caffeine. Richardson v. Phusion Projects, LLC, No. 11-0456 (S.D. Cal., filed March 4, 2011). The plaintiff alleges that she purchased Four Loko Fruit Punch at $3 per can based on its advertising and labeling, which purportedly failed to warn her “of the particular dangers of drinking a caffeinated beverage with high alcoholic content.” She alleges that she was misled into purchasing a dangerous beverage and claims “injury in fact and a loss of money or property in that she has been deprived of the benefit of her bargain and has spent money purchasing Four Loko at a price premium when it actually had significantly less value than was reflected in the price she paid for it.” The complaint alleges unfair competition, false advertising, violation…
This article summarizes recent research, including a November 2010 literature review in The Mayo Clinic Proceedings, that has questioned the effectiveness and safety of energy beverages (E.B.’s). According to Times journalist Jane Brody, the Mayo study “noted that the drinks contain high levels of caffeine and warned that certain susceptible people risk dangerous, even life-threatening effects on blood pressure, heart rate and brain function.” In addition to recording “four documented cases of caffeine-associated death,” the authors also expressed concern about “whether long-term use of E.B.’s by [teens and young adults] will translate into deleterious effects later.” As one of the contributors, Troy Tuttle, reportedly said in an interview, “Almost all the studies done on energy drinks have involved small sample sizes of young, healthy individuals in whom you’re unlikely to see short-term ill effects. But what about the long term? What about liver and cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes?”…
A January 25, 2011, commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has claimed that “regular (nonalcoholic) energy drinks might pose just as great a threat to individual and public health and safety” as the alcoholic versions recently barred by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). According to authors Amelia Arria and Mary Claire O’Brien, “health professionals should inform their patients of the risks associated with the use of highly caffeinated energy drinks; the public should educate themselves about the risks of energy drink use, in particular the danger associated with mixing energy drinks and alcohol; and the alcohol and energy drink industries should voluntarily and actively caution consumers against mixing energy drinks with alcohol, both on their product labels and in their advertising materials.” Calling for increased regulation, the article focuses on research suggesting that the caffeine in energy drinks could cause “adverse health…
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has filed a lawsuit seeking a response to its petition calling for the withdrawal of the federal government’s “current MyPyramid food diagram and dietary guidelines” and the adoption of PCRM’s “Power Plate food diagram and dietary guidelines.” PCRM v. Vilsack, No. 11-00038 (D.D.C., filed January 5, 2011). Brought against the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the complaint for injunctive relief calls the agencies’ food diagram “ineffective and confusing” and alleges that it “fails to promote overall health and well-being.” PCRM contends that USDA and HHS have violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to respond to its petition in a “reasonable time.” PCRM’s “Power Plate” would eliminate all animal-derived products from the diet. A Florida resident has filed a putative class action against Phusion Projects, LLC, claiming that the company’s Four Loko® caffeinated alcoholic…
