KAILUA-KONA A proposed settlement agreement in the lawsuit against the owner of Kona Brewing Co. could mean partial refunds for anybody whos purchased packs of its bottled or canned beers in the last few years.
KAILUA-KONA — A proposed settlement agreement in the lawsuit against the owner of Kona Brewing Co. could mean partial refunds for anybody who’s purchased packs of its bottled or canned beers in the last few years.
The plan still requires the judge’s approval, and a hearing for the motion is scheduled for next Thursday. But if the agreement gets the OK, it would allow those who file a claim without proof of purchase to get up to $10 and up to $20 if they do have proof of purchase.
“We are pleased to have reached a settlement agreement and are currently awaiting court approval,” Craft Brew Alliance said in a statement. “While we do not admit any wrongdoing, we felt it was important to move forward and avoid the unnecessary distraction and burden of ongoing litigation.”
The agreement would settle a 2017 lawsuit filed in federal court in which the plaintiffs, who were California residents at the time the complaint was filed, alleged that the company’s packaging and advertising misleads customers into believing the beer is brewed in Hawaii.
Although the company’s Kailua-Kona facility produces about 12,000 barrels of beer every year, its bottled and canned product, as well as its mainland draft, are brewed in breweries in Oregon, Washington state, Colorado and New Hampshire.
The complaint said that had the plaintiffs known the beer was brewed on the mainland, they either wouldn’t have purchased it “or would have paid significantly less for it.”
At the end of April, the parties in the case told the court they had reached a tentative agreement in the case.
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West Hawaii Today
Geez…talk about a frivolous lawsuit. Plaintiffs should have been tossed out on their petty rear-ends.
RG DeSoto