Item 3. Legal Proceedings
ITEM
3.
LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
We
were named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District
of Illinois on or about December 21, 2020. The plaintiffs, Eileen Brodsky and Rhonda Diamond, purporting to represent a class
of individuals who purchased coffee products at one of our supermarket customers, generally allege that such
client sold private label coffee products manufactured by us and one of our partners, which falsely described the number
of cups of coffee that could be made from the amount of product purchased. These parties are also named as defendants in
the action. The complaint asserts a variety of claims under New York and California consumer protection laws, and seeks unspecified
monetary damages, including disgorgement and restitution, as well as other forms of relief including class certification, declaratory
and injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees, and interest. We believe the allegations in the complaint are wholly without merit
and that the claims asserted are legally deficient, and the company intends to vigorously defend the action. As of the filing
of this Form 10-K, we have not been served with the complaint. Therefore, we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of this
lawsuit.
A
significant customer of ours was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court
for the District of Massachusetts on or about February 2, 2021, concerning the labeling on private label coffee productions we
sold to the customer. The plaintiff, David Cohen, purporting to represent a class of individuals who purchased coffee products
from our customer, generally allege that the customer sold private label coffee products manufactured by us which falsely described
the number of cups of coffee that could be made from the amount of product purchased. We are not named as a defendant in the action,
but we have agreed to indemnify the customer for the costs and expenses incurred in defending the lawsuit and for any liability
the customer may suffer as a result. The complaint asserts a variety of claims under Massachusetts consumer protection laws, and
seeks unspecified monetary damages as well as other forms of relief including class certification, declaratory and injunctive
relief, attorneys’ fees, and interest. We believe the allegations in the complaint are wholly without merit and that the
claims asserted are legally deficient, and we intend to vigorously support the customer in defending the action. As of the filing
of this Form 10-K, we are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of this lawsuit.
ITEM
4.
MINE
SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not
applicable.
18
PART
II
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.