Posts Tagged ‘ Anheuser Busch ’

Budweiser Uses Water to Fight Water; Says Whistleblowers Are Confused

March 6th, 2013. By AbiK

So after a few Budweiser class action lawsuits were filed last week over allegations that the King of Beers was selling ‘watered down’ beer, Budweiser took the opportunity to strike back. But rather than just defend itself or call the watered-down beer allegations pure bunk, it tried to get clever. How so? Anheuser Busch ran a full-page ad featuring a picture of Budweiser Water—actual canned water—that the brewer produces for disaster relief efforts.

Here’s the full-page ad:

Tags: Anheuser Busch, Budweiser, Budweiser Class Action, Budweiser Lawsuit, Consumer Fraud, Michelob, Whistleblower
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Whistleblower | 1 Comment »

Budweiser Watered-Down? That’s just Un-American! (if true)

February 27th, 2013. By AbiK

Budweiser is taking some heat in the form of a class action lawsuit alleging that the most American of American beer brewers adds water to its beer thereby reducing the alcohol content by three to eight percent compared to what’s indicated on its beer label (and yes, I know Bud merged with Belgian In-Bev, but it will always be the iconic American beer).

If the allegations are true, it puts into question everything the red, white and blue stands for: honesty, hard work, integrity, and a nice cold brew as reward for it all. Hell, those Clydesdales have continued to unite us all in red-blooded pride each holiday season—what with their showing up every winter on our t.v. screens, tugging at our heartstrings better than the best Hallmark card could.

Gosh darnit where’s that House Committee on Un-American Activities when you need them?

Now what’s interesting with the Budweiser class action lawsuit here is that the folks who filed the lawsuit are not the ones you’d expect. C’mon—when you hear someone’s suing a beer company because they’re thinking there ain’t the right amount of alcohol in their beer, you’re thinking of some beer-loving redneck, right? Wrong.

The folks that filed the Budweiser class action are Budweiser employees. And, according to a report from MSN, some are “in high-level plant positions”. They ought to know.

The MSN article quotes lead attorney Josh Boxer as stating, “Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned (in the lawsuit) are watered down. It’s a simple cost-saving measure, and it’s very significant.”

According to the lawsuit, the deceptive practice and false advertising began after the 2008 merger between Anheuser-Busch and In-Bev. The lawsuit states, “Following the merger, AB vigorously accelerated the deceptive practices described below, sacrificing the quality products once produced by Anheuser-Busch in order to reduce costs.”

The lawsuit, filed in California, Pennsylvania and additional states including one due this week in New Jersey, involve ten Anheuser-Busch beers: Budweiser, Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Natural Ice and Bud Light Lime. Each lawsuit is seeking at least $5 million in damages.

We’ll keep an eye on this one as not only is it nation-wide, but it also involves “insider info” (always making for good story line) and the most iconic American beer for heaven’s sake!

Tags: Anheuser Busch, Beer Lawsuit, Budweiser Beer, Budweiser Class Action, Consumer Fraud, false advertising, In Bev, Michelob, Watered Down Beer
Posted in Class Action, Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »

Anheuser-Busch Scion Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit

October 31st, 2012. By AbiK

Remember Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick mess? And the more recent one about polo club founder John Goodman—who after being charged with DUI was trying to adopt his girlfriend? The rich and famous just seem to have a way of getting into trouble with the law—and not just in a misdemeanor kind of way. This time, it was August Busch IV—Busch as in Anheuser-Busch, as in Budweiser, as in St. Louis, as in Clydesdales. That Busch.

August Busch IV, great-great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, founder of A-B, has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over the accidental death of his former girlfriend, Adrienne Martin. Martin died at Busch’s mansion in 2010 after an accidental drug overdose involving both cocaine and the the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

The wrongful death lawsuit had been filed by Martin’s ex-husband, Dr. Kevin Martin, on behalf of their son Blake, who is a minor. Later, Adrienne Martin’s parents, Larry Eby and Christine Trampler, were able to join the lawsuit after an appeal.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the settlement, which was signed on Tuesday by Circuit Judge William Syler, calls for Blake Martin to receive $1.35 million. Adrienne Martin’s mother, Christine Trampler agreed to accept $200,000; her father, Larry Eby agreed to a $200,000 out-of-court settlement to be put into an annuity for his grandson.

After Martin died, an autopsy revealed cocaine use and evidence of an overdose of the prescription painkiller oxycodone. Police investigated the incident, and prosecutors said there was no evidence to indicate Martin’s death was anything other than accidental.

August Busch IV was CEO of Anheuser-Busch up until the sale of the company to Belgian company InBev in 2008. Since that time, the Post-Dispatch reports, Busch has continued as a paid consultant at Anheuser-Busch InBev, receiving $120,000 a month.

Tags: Adrienne Martin, Anheuser Busch, August Busch IV, Budweiser, Oxycodone, Settlement, Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Posted in Emerging Issues, lawsuits, Settlement | No Comments »