Dowd Bennett Defeats Florida Beer Class Action

On August 18, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed with prejudice a putative class action lawsuit filed against Dowd Bennett clients Anheuser-Busch and Miami Beer Ventures.  The plaintiffs challenged several aspects of the marketing and labeling of a craft beer brand with a brewpub in Miami called Veza Sur.  The plaintiffs asserted statutory claims under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Florida’s Misleading Advertising law, and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, as well as claims for unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of express warranty.  The plaintiffs also sought to represent a class of all consumers who had purchased Veza Sur beer and moved for class certification.  The court’s decision to grant the motion to dismiss resulted in denial of the plaintiffs’ pending class certification motion as moot.  Dowd Bennett attorneys Jim Bennett, Hannah Preston, and Adam Simon represented Anheuser-Busch and Miami Beer Ventures in the case.