Judge Tosses Part of Beer Suit

The suit, filed in March 2014, stated that while the cups were different shapes, “both cup sizes hold substantially the same amount of liquid and are not large versus small in actual capacity. … Defendants knowingly sold each of their beers in a similar manner at each event held at the arena where beer was sold for at least the last five years.”

But Judge Deborah Bail had some doubts about the suit’s allegations, writing Sept. 7 that claims of fraud and misrepresentation would be dropped from the case, according to court documents obtained by the local KBOI-TV.

“In this case, there are no facts which would allow a reasonable person to infer that Block 22 (CenturyLink Arena) knew that it was making false statements about beer drink sizes to the public,” Bail wrote. The suit will instead proceed to trial on claims the arena violated consumer protection laws in the state and for unjust enrichment.

“Although ounce quantities for the cups were not listed anywhere in the Arena, the words ‘large’ and ‘regular’ are plain English words which the average consumer would understand would designate a significant difference in product amount,” Bail continued. “It is a jury issue whether the Idaho Consumer Protection Act was violated.”

The fan suit was filed after a video was uploaded to YouTube that showed a CenturyLink patron pouring a large cup of beer into an empty small cup. In both cups, the beer reached nearly to the brim. Officials for the arena announced at the time that the company had ordered 16-ounce and 20-ounce beer cups and had never intended to mislead customers. A trial date has been set for Nov. 3.