Bigelow Faces Trial Over Claims Its Tea Is Made in the U.S.A.

Tea purveyor RC Bigelow Inc. faces a potential class action trial over claims its products are “manufactured in the USA” after a federal judge found that assertion “is literally false.”

Judge Dean Pregerson of the US District Court for the Central District of California on Monday ruled that because it’s undisputed that the company’s tea is grown and processed abroad, Bigelow can’t argue that it is “manufactured” in the U.S., granting partial summary judgment for the plaintiffs on the elements of deception and falsity.

The court denied summary judgment for Bigelow. The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company had contended that the tea ...