The Kona coffee brand is a big deal. I wrote in 2019 about a group of Kona coffee farmers who filed a class action lawsuit against a number of coffee purveyors for allegedly selling fraudulent Kona coffee. Six of the defendants have recently agreed to settle the case without admitting to the allegations. The current proposed settlement total is over $13 million.
We Kona coffee farmers have now been contacted about proposed settlements in the class action lawsuit Corker, et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., et al., No. 1:19-cv-00290, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. If you’re interested, check out the informational website, konacoffeesettlement.com.
I wonder what this lawsuit and its resolution could mean for our industry in the long run.
Not the same issue, but related to the brand … I wrote about it a year ago, truth in labeling. To label a coffee a Kona blend, what percentage of Kona coffee do you think is required? It’s a measly 10%!! This has been in the labeling law for almost 30 years. Bills to redress this problem have repeatedly been brought up to Legislature and failed.
At least something good is happening with the fake coffee
Law suits 👍🏝🤙
Carl