A Jefferson County district judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit that accused Coors Brewing Co. and other alcoholic-beverage makers of targeting minors with advertisements.
In a seven-page order, District Judge James Zimmerman slammed the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs failed to show that they or any of their children suffered damages because of the advertisements.
“It clearly appears that the plaintiffs cannot prove facts in support of their claims,” Zimmerman said in the filing.
Zimmerman also ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendants’ legal fees.
Originally filed in December 2003 by law firm Straus & Boies LLP, the suit also named Bacardi USA, Heineken NV, Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co. and several other beverage makers. It listed Randy and Colleen Kreft as lead plaintiffs.
Golden-based Coors said Tuesday it was gratified by the court’s decision.
“The court found the case so lacking in merit that it took the unusual step of ordering the plaintiffs to pay the legal fees of the companies they sued,” Coors spokeswoman Kabira Hatland said.
Zimmerman’s order was filed Friday and sent to attorneys in the case Monday.
Attorney David Boies III of Straus & Boies couldn’t be reached for comment late Tuesday. Boies is the son of lawyer David Boies, who led a federal antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.
In the alcohol-marketing lawsuit, Coors was accused of using the Coors Light Twins to promote the PG-13-rated film “Scary Movie 3.”
“The target market for that movie clearly was under age 21,” Boies told The Denver Post in April 2004. “It’s pretty heinous to target your marketing effort in a very narrow way where a majority of the viewers are underage.”
The lawsuit also alleged that Bacardi advised website visitors how to “avoid any dirty looks from Mom as you reach for a Bacardi bottle at 8 a.m.” while preparing a “breakfast with a bang” consisting of rum, grapefruit and sugar.
Similar cases are pending in a handful of other states.
Legal experts have said there are similarities between the alcohol-marketing cases and the national tobacco litigation of the 1990s that culminated with a settlement payment by tobacco companies of more than $246 billion.
But they noted that a “smoking gun” is needed to incriminate the alcoholic-beverage makers.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at 303-820-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com.
