Keurig Green Mountain Loses Bid to Dismiss Monopoly Suit Over K-Cups
December 04 2017 - 5:38PM
Business Wire
Court Says Proposed Class Actions Can Keep
Percolating
A federal court has rejected a request by Keurig Green Mountain
to dismiss multiple lawsuits charging that it has unfairly
monopolized the market for single-serve “K-Cups” used in its
popular coffee brewing machines.
“We’re very pleased that the court is allowing our clients—who
seek to represent a class of direct purchasers—to pursue their
claims seeking fair prices and consumer choice,” said Kellie Lerner
of Robins Kaplan LLP®, which represents plaintiffs that
purchased K-Cups directly from Keurig Green Mountain. “These are
bedrock principles of a competitive marketplace.”
The proposed class represented by Robins Kaplan alleges that
Keurig Green Mountain has taken active and unlawful steps to
preserve its monopoly in the multibillion-dollar K-Cup market. Its
complaint charges Keurig Green Mountain with buying up potential
competitors, leaning on retailers to restrict access to competitive
products, and creating a new brewer—the Keurig 2.0—that will not
brew coffee from K-Cup-like cartridges made by unlicensed third
parties. In fiscal year 2015, Keurig Green Mountain netted $3.645
billion in sales from its beverage pods, the most notable of which
were single-serve K-Cups.
The court’s decision keeps alive the majority of the claims
Keurig Green Mountain sought to dismiss across multiple lawsuits.
In addition to the direct purchasers represented by Robins Kaplan,
other plaintiffs charging Keurig Green Mountain with unlawful
monopolistic conduct include a proposed class of indirect
purchasers, such as individuals who purchased K-Cups from
retailers, and makers of competing cartridges.
Bernard Persky and Meegan Hollywood of Robins Kaplan also
represent the plaintiffs.
The multi-district litigation is In re: Keurig Green Mountain
Single-Serve Coffee Antitrust Litigation. It is pending in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
before Judge Vernon S. Broderick. Judge Broderick heard oral
arguments on Keurig Green Mountain’s motion to dismiss on July 9,
2015.
About Robins Kaplan LLP®
Robins Kaplan is among the nation’s premier trial law firms,
with more than 220 lawyers located in Bismarck, N.D.; Boston; Los
Angeles; Minneapolis; Naples, Fla; New York; Silicon Valley; and
Sioux Falls, S.D. The firm litigates, mediates, and arbitrates
high-stakes, complex disputes, repeatedly earning national
recognition. Firm clients include—as both plaintiffs and
defendants—numerous Fortune 500 corporations, emerging markets
companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals.
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Robins Kaplan LLPLeah Radtke,
612-349-8442LRadtke@RobinsKaplan.com