Activate Slapped with Class-Action Lawsuit

Ray Latif|February 28, 2012 4:18 pm

And the hits just keep on coming.

A class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 24 accuses Rising Beverage Co. – the owner of Activate — of dishonest and misleading statements in its advertising about the freshness of Activate’s key innovation, its “in-the-cap” reservoir of dry vitamins versus those pre-mixed in other beverages.

The new lawsuit follows news of a rash of California-based consumer claims filed in California. Less than a week ago, BevNET reported on new class-action lawsuits brought against Zico and Xing Tea, and others have been filed against brands like Muscle Milk. And that’s just in the beverage world: a host of similar civil suits are alleging breaches of several California consumer protection laws related to false advertising and unfair competition.

Asked about the lawsuit, Dan Holland, the CEO of Activate, stated simply, “We think it has no base.”

In advertising for its products, Activate states that “vitamins deteriorate while sitting in water, so we keep ours hid in the lid.” And on its website, Activate states that, “According to our research conducted in partnership with an independent analytical laboratory, Vitamins A, B, and C lose their potency sitting in water.”

However, the lawsuit alleges that Activate has provided the plaintiff with “no citations or documents… to substantiate or support its advertising message.” Additionally, the lawsuit points to a 2006 study in The Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences that found certain types of vitamins – including those contained in Activate – to be stable in water. Moreover, the Journal study found that palmitate, the form of vitamin A used in Activate, “is the most stable form of the vitamin in aqueous solution (water).”

The plaintiff claims that because Activate markets its vitamins as being materially fresher than the vitamins in other products, the company is able to charge a premium for its drinks, even though consumers are not receiving the promised benefits of fresher vitamins.

Companies Rising Beverage Co.

Company: Rising Beverage Co. Website: http://activatedrinks.com/

No description provided.

Daveed

I think a very good series of questions would be about who the plaintiffs are in these cases and what types of settlements they think that they will receive. I am guessing that it is all coming from class action attorneys who are propping up fake plaintiffs to force settlement fees.
dr soda

gotta just love california, don’t ya. some good guys, with a new “twist” and just when the going gets good….so bounty hunting legal group jumps on your back. they got me on potato chips and that is why i am leaving california. Anders, please do not go down to their level!
Carpe Veritas

It really is a shame. The problem is, these class action barons garner judicial sympathy because they indicate they have the consumers best interest at hand…versus the ‘big bad evil corporations’ like “Activate’..really? Xing? really? Zico? really? These class action suits are anti-small business, consume massive amounts of public resource, and don’t truly benefit the consumer core at large in any legitimate way. And as Daveed indicates below, the method of farming plaintiffs is truly stomach turning. Seeking out individuals who will play along with there scheme and getting them to do the leg work (such as buying/handling/ingesting products upon command). Our system is set up to allow a handful malicious individuals to profit handsomely on the backs of hard working individuals often without the resources to fight backand the entirety of the livelihood on the line. Again, its a shame. go! fight! win! I look forward to the class action against class actions. time to push back.
Terry

Just another BS lawsuit in California. All too common these days. I agree with Daveed – who are the plantiffs? Unfortunate that our society has degraded to this situation.

On a side note: I have absolutely NO involvement with Activate or the company but I do know as does the science community that certain vitamins begin to degrade when disolved in water and when exposed to UV light – all of which would happen in many of the competing products. Kudos to you, Dan.
dr soda

from my experience, the plaintiffs are generally bounty hunting lawyers. it is certainly hardly ever about the consumer and most class action benifits only the lawyers especially in california which is so anti small business anyway
concerned

Lawsuit should have been “Cap does not Open”. Bad experience with this item and the rep could not explain and never got back with answer. Another flawed drink
Don Chilton

I agree with all here however the real problem is the american mentality. These frivolous lawsuits permiate every aspect of both retail and industrial companies. Remember the hot coffee spilled from McDonalds, who’s fault was that, Mickey D’s? If we changed our system and charged the “losers” the legal fees for both parties I guarantee the lawsuit activity would be drastically reduced. Unfortunately this will never happen because lawyers are making the laws and let’s be honest. They are designed to keep attorneys busy. Huh, kind of a fulfilling situation. They make the laws, they interpret the laws, and they attempt to understand them in court at the expense of the citizens.
Don
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factoryracer

The cap is not supposed to open stupid. You twist it as it shows on the bottle if you can read! Then shake the bottle and just unscrew the cap off and drink it. But it’s clear your illiterate and need help opening a friggin bottle!!!
Jon

California is going to hell, and our lawyers and politicians are leading the way. Thank you liberals!

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Activate Slapped with Class-Action Lawsuit

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