MillerCoors Sued For Portraying Blue Moon As Craft Beer Worthy Of Premium Price Tag

MillerCoors is facing a class-action lawsuit for representing Blue Moon as a craft beer, according to documents filed in a California superior court. The plaintiff, Evan Parent, alleges that MillerCoors purposely fails to identify itself as the brewery responsible for Blue Moon, and instead advertises the beer as a being produced by an independent brewery.

Consumers are allegedly led to believe that Blue Moon is worth the premium price associated with "high quality, small batch, craft beers." The mass-produced beer is sold under the name Blue Moon Brewing Company, a limited-capacity brewery that does not in fact produce any of the Blue Moon beer sold in stores.

Furthermore, the macrobrewery is accused of "intentionally omitting the MillerCoors name from Blue Moon products and advertising," as well as using the phrase "artfully crafted" on the label.

"This phrase, which appears on the defendant's web site and in print advertising, further serves to further [sic] mislead consumers by implying that Blue Moon is a true craft beer brewed by an almost entirely fictitious brewery."

At the heart of the matter, the lawsuit claims that MillerCoors is guilty of deceit by which consumers "have suffered injury in fact because they paid more for Blue Moon than they would have in the absence of such advertising, or they purchased Blue Moon beer when they otherwise would have purchased another beer."

The plaintiff is seeking "restitution, an injunction prohibiting the defendant from continuing its unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices, and any other relief the court deems appropriate."