Walgreens Added Penny-Per-Ounce Tax To Unsweetened Drinks: Lawsuit

CHICAGO, IL — A Schaumburg man has filed a class action lawsuit against Walgreens that accuses the drug store chain of wrongfully adding Cook County's sweetened beverage tax on drinks that are exempt from the penny-per-ounce tariff. The two-count lawsuit filed Monday by Vince De Leon in Cook County Circuit Court claims Walgreens violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by deceiving customers and taxing purchases of unsweetened sparkling water, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The lawsuit seeks at least $50,000 in damages, which would include refunds for De Leon and anyone else wrongly taxed by Walgreens, the report stated. The plaintiff is requesting a jury trial to determine this, the report added. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Arlington Heights news. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

According to the lawsuit, the Walgreens in the 1000 block of North Roselle Road in Hoffman Estates added the tax to De Leon's purchase Friday, Aug. 4, of a case of Dasani Tropical Pineapple Sparkling Water, despite the case labeling the water as unsweetened, the report stated. Under the county tax, 1 cent is applied to every ounce purchased of beverages sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Drinks, such as unsweetened bottle water or juices that contain 100 percent vegetable or fruit juice, are exempt, however.

RELATED: Cook County Soda Tax Starts This Week: What It Means For Soft Drink Purchases

The lawsuit also describes two other instances of Walgreens by unidentified plaintiffs adding the county tax improperly since it was enacted Wednesday, Aug. 2. A Chicago store allegedly taxed Lipton Pure Leaf Unsweetened Green Tea, and on Thursday, Aug. 3, a Western Springs location is accused of applying the tax to a case of Dasani Black Cherry Sparkling Water, the Sun-Times reports.

The class-action suit's claims of deception against Walgreens stem from the company admitting to mistakenly taxing customers in an online story last week. In those cases, the franchise had taxed purchases of Lacroix sparkling water but not of the Walgreens-brand sparkling water, according to DNAinfo.com.

"While preparing to collect the County’s tax on sweetened beverages, we inadvertently coded some of our products incorrectly within our system that applies taxes during the checkout process. We are working to resolve this complex issue as soon as possible," Walgreens told DNAinfo.com in its Wednesday, Aug. 2, article.

Illinois Food Retailers Association and other opponents of the sweetened beverage tax continue to urge Cook County commissioners to repeal the measure. Businesses remain concerned that the tax will push customers to purchase their sugary drinks at stores in Lake and Will counties, as well as Indiana, according to the Can the Tax coalition, which has been fighting the tax since it was proposed last year. The group estimates that Cook County retailers could see a decline of as much as 67 percent in drink sales affected by the measure.

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

Photo via Pixabay

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on