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On February 18, 2022, WMP filed a class action lawsuit in New York Federal Court to recover tens of millions of dollars for consumers victimized by Manhattan Beer’s illegal billing scheme.
The suit describes how the beer giant boosts profits by adding hidden surcharges to invoices for top-selling brands like Corona, Coors, and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
Specifically, the company uses deceptive invoices to dupe small businesses into paying bottle deposit charges that are higher than what the law allows. Adding insult to injury, the lawsuit alleges that the beer giant only surcharges its smaller mom and pop customers but not larger customers like supermarket chains.
“Manhattan Beer’s CEO Simon Bergson likes to boast that his company provides ‘best-in-class service’ to its customers,” says lead lawyer Steven L. Wittels. “But you can’t be best if you rip off your customers by collecting millions a year in sham bottle deposit charges,” he adds.
“This isn’t the first time Manhattan Beer has been caught red-handed hurting the little guy,” continues partner J. Burkett McInturff. “A Federal judge recently ruled that Manhattan Beer makes illegal deductions from its workers’ wages in another class action our firm brought against the company.”
With over one billion dollars in annual revenue, and sales of more than 45 million cases of beer and hard beverages a year, the millions Manhattan Beer reaps from its bottle deposit scam translates to even higher profits for company executives.
“Let’s just say that’s a lot of beer money,” adds lead class lawyer Steven L. Wittels, “and the small businesses Manhattan Beer stole it from would like it back.”
To read the Class Action Complaint, click here.
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