Keurig Must Face Most of Sprawling Antitrust Suit Over K-Cups

Keurig Green Mountain Inc. must face most of a consolidated antitrust lawsuit accusing the “K-Cup” maker of monopolizing the market for single-serve coffee machines and pods.

Two competing coffee makers and a proposed class of direct purchasers—distributors and retailers—can proceed with their antitrust claims under the Sherman Act and the laws of more than 20 states, a Manhattan federal judge ruled in an opinion unsealed April 24. A sealed version of the 114-page opinion was issued April 3.

The lawsuit accuses Keurig of unlawfully tying sales of its K-Cup pods to its single-serving brewing machines, which have a dominant 89 ...