Tag: alcohol
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New Hampshire Governor Blocks “Babies on Beer Bottles” Bill
New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan (D) has reportedly vetoed a bill seeking to allow alcohol beverage labels to depict minors as long as the advertising is not intended to promote underage alcohol consumption. Introduced by Rep. Keith Murphy (R-Hillsborough), the measure (H.B. 122) would have struck language from the state’s rules on alcohol beverage advertising…
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EFSA Finalizes Caffeine Risk Assessment
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its final caffeine risk assessment, concluding that “single doses of caffeine up to 200 mg” and “habitual caffeine consumption up to 400 mg per day does not give rise to safety concerns for non-pregnant adults.” Following a two-month consultation, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and…
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Plaintiff Reaches Agreement with Skinnygirl in Margarita False Advertising Suit
Skinnygirl Cocktails, LLC and a consumer have filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in a lawsuit alleging that the company and its reality-TV star founder, Bethenny Frankel, mislabeled its Margarita cocktail as “natural” despite containing the preservative sodium benzoate. Langendorf v. Skinnygirl Cocktails, LLC, No. 11-7060 (N.D. Ill., joint stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice…
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“Handmade” Claim “Obviously Cannot Be Used Literally to Describe Bourbon,” Court Finds
A Florida federal court has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Beam Suntory Inc. and Maker’s Mark Distillery falsely label their Maker’s Mark® bourbon as “handmade” because they manufacture the product using a mechanized process. Salters v. Beam Suntory, Inc., No. 14-659 (N.D. Fla., order entered May 1, 2015). The plaintiffs “have been unable to articulate…
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Vodka Maker Argues Against MDL in “Handmade” Labeling Dispute
Fifth Generation, Inc., maker of Tito’s® Handmade Vodka, has filed an opposition to a motion to consolidate eight proposed class actions alleging the vodka is mislabeled as “handmade” because it is manufactured with an automated process. In re Tito’s Handmade Vodka Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., MDL No. 2634 (J.P.M.L., motion filed April 28, 2015). The…
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Texas Settles Alamo Trademark Suit with Beer Cos.
Texas has settled a trademark dispute with Alamo Beer Co. and Old 300 Brewing after the state intervened in Alamo Beer’s lawsuit alleging Old 300 infringed its trademarked Alamo silhouette. Alamo Beer Co. v. Old 300 Brewing, LLC, No. 14-285 (W.D. Tex., consent order entered April 28, 2015). According to court documents, the settlement establishes that…
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Second Putative Class Action Alleging Unsafe Arsenic Levels in California Wine Filed in Louisiana
A consumer has filed a putative class action in Louisiana federal court against several California wineries alleging that their products contain “dangerously high” levels of arsenic, echoing a similar lawsuit filed in California in March 2015. Crespo-Bithorn v. The Wine Grp. Inc., No. 15-1424 (M.D. La., filed April 20, 2015). The complaint alleges that the…
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Alcohol Company and Gunmaker Settle over “Tommy Guns Vodka”
Saeilo Enterprises Inc., and Alphonse Capone Enterprises Inc., have reportedly reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging trademark and trade dress infringement for a bottle of vodka branded as “Tommy Guns Vodka” and shaped like Saeilo’s Thompson submachine gun. Saeilo Enterprises, Inc. v. Alphonse Capone Enterprises, Inc., No. 13-2306 (N.D. Ill., notification of docket entry filed…