Civil Procedure – Class actions

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U.S. Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Civil Procedure – Class actions

The district court erred in denying class certification to plaintiffs alleging they were misled by defendant’s packaging instant coffee to resemble K-cups, and granting summary judgment to the defendant.

“Our de novo review of the summary judgment record satisfies us that there are genuine questions of material fact in each of the individual cases whether the GSC packaging was likely to mislead a reasonable consumer. Sturm consciously avoided use of the term ‘instant’ and designed the package to resemble Keurig products; several of the plaintiffs testified that they were misled; the packaging contained numerous statements that implied the product was premium fresh (i.e. unbrewed) coffee; and the package did not explain that it was little more than instant coffee. At least three independent expert surveys, all employing different methodologies, found that consumers were confused about the product. A jury should have decided the question whether the packaging was likely to mislead reasonable consumers.”

Reversed and Remanded.

13-3843 Suchanek v. Sturm Foods, Inc.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Murphy, J., Wood, J.

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