PHILADELPHIA – Plaintiffs from states all over the country have filed class action litigation stating Steaz’s “Organic Lightly Sweetened Iced Green Tea” is nothing of the sort, and that it actually contains sugar levels higher than healthy and recommended daily levels for consumers.
The plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Oct. 6 versus The Healthy Beverage Company, LLC, of Doylestown.
“Consumers, including plaintiffs and class members, expect that the amount of sugar advertised on the front of the label does not severely contradict the ingredients actually contained in the product itself. This is especially the case when the consumer pays a premium for an organic product or a product which purports to contain minimal or low amount of sugar,” the suit states.
“However, defendant’s product misled consumers by using labeling to deceive the consumer into believing that the beverage is only ‘lightly sweetened’ meanwhile the product contains 20 grams of added sugar. 20 grams of added sugar is a significant and excessive amount. The American Heart Association recommends that men consume 37.5 and women consume 25 grams of added sugar per day respectively.”
The suit argues one significant contributing factor for such a large rise in American obesity rates is sugar consumption.
Each of the plaintiffs say they purchased the product several times over the last four years at local retailers in their respective states and relied on the phrase “Lightly Sweetened” on the beverage’s labeling believing that the product was, in fact, low in sugar.
Furthermore, they would not have purchased or paid more for the product had she “known or was aware that the product was not low in sugar, but rather, had much more sugar in it than prominently represented and advertised on the front of the product’s label.”
“As a result, defendant’s misrepresentation regarding its product being ‘lightly sweetened’, which appears prominently on the front of the label, is material to consumers who purchase defendant’s product because such consumers believe the representation to be true,” according to the lawsuit.
“In other words, consumers believe they are purchasing a ‘lightly sweetened’ product which is low in sugar content and pass over other cheaper alternatives to make a purchase decision that better suits their health preferences and lifestyle.”
The plaintiffs argue because Steaz Tea is not “lightly sweetened” but instead is “high” in added sugars, defendant’s marketing, advertising and labeling of the product is false and misleading.
“Because of defendant’s deceptive advertising practices, consumers, including plaintiffs, were and continue to be fraudulently induced to purchase the products and have suffered damages,” the suit says.
For counts of unjust enrichment, the plaintiff is seeking an order certifying the Class under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and naming plaintiffs as representatives of the class and plaintiffs’ attorneys as class counsel; an order of equitable monetary relief, an order awarding plaintiffs and the class their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of suit, plus a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by David C. Magagna Jr. and Charles E. Schaffer of Levin Sedran & Berman, in Philadelphia.
The defendant has not yet obtained legal counsel.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-04934
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com