EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. District Judge David Dugan awarded $154,862.50 to lawyers for Arizona Beverages on Feb. 25 for work that class action lawyer Spencer Sheehan put them through on a claim that had no chance.
Dugan found Sheehan acted in bad faith as counsel for Kenneth Crawford of St. Clair County.
“Whatever reasonable belief plaintiff might have had that he was a defrauded customer or suffered actual damage from Arizona Tea’s labeling disappeared with his own testimony," he wrote.
Arizona Beverages sought only the fees it charged after Crawford’s deposition.
Sheehan filed the complaint in 2022, claiming Arizona Beverages put deceptive labels on 20 ounce cans of its Arnold Palmer Lite mixture of tea and lemonade.
“Far from being Lite and low in sugar, sugar is the second most predominant ingredient in the product by weight," he wrote.
“The product’s representation as Lite is misleading because it is not low in calories.”
He alleged consumer fraud, unjust enrichment, breaches of contract and warranty, negligent misrepresentation, common law fraud and consumer injunctive relief.
Arizona Beverages retained Casey Grabenstein of Chicago, Elizabeth Ware of Pennsylvania, and Robert Donovan and John Visconi of New Jersey.
They moved to dismiss and in 2013 Dugan dismissed all claims except consumer fraud and unjust enrichment.
Donovan deposed Crawford and moved for summary judgment, claiming Crawford couldn’t prove causation, deception or damage.
He claimed Crawford couldn’t confirm that he purchased the product with the label identified in the complaint.
He claimed Crawford continued buying it after forming a belief that he was deceived.
He claimed Crawford preferred 23 ounce cans and bought 20 ounces only when the 23 ounce can wasn’t available.
He claimed Crawford said it was the best product and value and the price was fair.
Dugan granted judgment last March, finding Crawford based his claim on a single label and there was no real indication that he ever saw it.
He found Crawford said it quenched his thirst and had a pleasing taste.
“Without at least some evidence of actual damage plaintiff’s action cannot proceed," he wrote.
Arizona Beverages moved for an award of fees and Dugan heard argument last July.
Sheehan stuck to his position that he had a chance.
He said Donovan’s actions were in some way intended to chill and punish.
He said he believed Donovan’s motion was made in bad faith.
Dugan told Sheehan he practiced almost exclusively on the plaintiff side and he had cases that looked good for a little while.
“You take the deposition and you find out some things through the assistance of a defense attorney that I didn’t discover and I have to reassess at that point whether it is a viable claim, whether I have a different theory," he said.
“My concern is the decision just to press on.”
Sheehan said Crawford’s testimony that he became aware of the sugar and caloric content was not dispositive at all.
“He also thought it was a better option than other options and that’s because he believed that it was light,” he said.
He said Crawford wasn’t in a position to answer Donovan about damages.
“Whether or not he paid a fair price, I think that is a sort of disingenuous question," he said.
“That’s for the court to decide.”
Dugan granted the fees, finding Crawford didn’t argue that he suffered actual damage.
“Nor does he now contend that he was misled by the product’s label except to say that it contained the word Lite," he wrote.
He found a party who knows the price, sugar content and caloric value and buys a product anyway because of his fondness for it can’t be a member of the class.
He found that to penalize a party or attorney for making adjustments when necessary and timely would be inappropriate.
“But here plaintiff pressed onward with his claim despite what should have been seen as an insurmountable obstacle to recovery," he wrote.
He found Crawford could have exited by dismissing or substituting a class representative who suffered actual injury.
Sheehan practices at Great Neck, New York.
He filed 17 label suits at district court in 2021, 11 in 2022, and one in 2023.
He hasn’t filed one since and all his cases have closed.