Costco, Other Retailers Defeat Part of Kona Coffee Class Action

A group of retailers including Costco and Amazon trimmed a class action accusing them of selling counterfeit Kona coffee after the Western District of Washington ruled Nov. 12 that they couldn’t be held liable for false advertising.

The plaintiffs, growers of Kona coffee, allege that a range of coffee distributors, wholesalers, and retailers have been passing off to consumers ordinary commodity coffee as Kona coffee. Real Kona coffee is only grown in the Kona District of the Big Island of Hawaii, where the volcanic soil, the elevation, and the humidity combine to give the coffee its renowned flavor and aroma, ...