Plaintiffs in the Whole Foods GT’s Kombucha class action lawsuit allege Millennium Products, Inc. and Whole Foods Market Inc. mislead consumers in the presentation of sugar, alcohol, and antioxidant levels in certain GT’s Kombucha products. The Kombucha products covered in the class action settlement include GT’s Classic Kombucha, Enlightened Kombucha, Classic Synergy, and Enlightened Synergy.
The plaintiffs charge the two companies with adding sugar, but not mentioning the addition of sugar on the label. By labeling the GT’s Kombucha products as non-alcoholic, the two companies allegedly violated federal consumer protection law by misleading consumers. The inclusion of the term “antioxidant” also violates consumer protection law, since none of the products mentioned in the class action lawsuit contain antioxidants.
Both Millennium and Whole Foods strongly deny either company broke one or more federal consumer protection laws. The companies agreed to the class action settlement of more than $8 million to avoid costly litigation and the uncertainty of a verdict in the favor of both companies. In addition to the monetary award, both companies have agreed to make significant labeling changes to correct the misleading information.
What You Need to Know
Class members of the settlement include anyone who purchased one or more of the following products between March 11, 2011 and February 27, 2017:
Classic Kombucha: Original, Multi-Green, Third Eye Chai, Citrus Gingerade
Classic Synergy: Cosmic Cranberry, Maqui Berry Mint, Divine Grape, Strawberry Serenity, Superfruits, Trilogy, Gingerberry Raspberry Rush
Enlightened Kombucha: Citrus, Botanic No. 3, Botanic No. 7, Botanic No. 9, Gingerade, Multi-Green, Original
Enlightened Synergy: Black Chia, Cosmic Cranberry, Cherry Chia, Gingerberry, Grape Chia, Green Chia, Guava Goddess, Mystic Mango, Raspberry Chia, Strawberry Serenity, Trilogy, Passionberry Bliss
Class members can expect a potential award up to $60 or product vouchers that do not exceed $60. The amount each class member receives depends on the number of valid Claim Form submissions. If the award pool falls below the number of claim forms submitted, a judge will have to reduce the number of class members. To find out about the status of the monetary awards, refer to the website www.Millennium-Settlement.com. Officially referred to as Retta, et al. v. Millennium Products Inc., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-01801-PSG-AJW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the Millennium and Whole Foods class action settlement has a Claim Form submission deadline of May 30, 2017, with the final hearing scheduled for July 31, 2017.
Attorneys L. Timothy Fisher and Yeremey Krivoshey of Bursor & Fisher PA represent the class counsel in the class action lawsuit. Millennium has the legal counsel of Scott M. Voelz and Daniel J. Faria from O’Melveny & Meyers LLP, while Whole Foods has hired the law firm LTL Attorneys LLP.
