No Tequila in Your Rita: Lime-A-Rita Drinkers Can Cash in With New Class Action Suit

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If you bought a Lime-A-Rita™ or other Rita™ brand mixed drink in the past four years, you may be entitled to a payout.

An estimated $6,000,000 class action suit settled against Budweiser producer Anheuser-Busch on July 19th alleges that the alcohol giant falsely advertised their Rita™ line of mixed beverages as containing tequila – when in fact, they do not.

Anheuser-Busch sold 5.52 million cases of Rita™ brand products in 2021 alone.

These sparkling, 8 percent ABV beverages – variations of which include Lima-A-Rita™, Strawber-Rita™, Passion-Fruit-Rita™ and countless others – were long advertised as the “margarita with a twist” on their packaging.

Plaintiffs Adam Kesselring and Megan Browning successfully argued that the advertising of Rita™ beverages as margaritas was categorically false, given that the drinks are ultimately “just a flavored beer”, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Consumers who purchased Rita™ products from January 1, 2018 through July 19, 2022 are entitled to refunds under the suit. Claims without proof of purchase are entitled to a $9.75 refund, while claims accompanied by proof of purchase will pay out $21.75.  The final deadline to file a claim is December 16, 2022.

If you think you might be entitled to compensation, file a claim at ritassettlement.com.

Photo: Wspin / Shutterstock.com

The product, which was initially branded as “Bud Lite Rita” until Anheuser-Busch removed the Bud Lite moniker from its name in 2019, rode to success on the wave of hard-seltzers and pre-mixed drinks which swept the nation in the past few years.

Once at the peak of the market, Rita™ products have slowly lagged behind popular pre-mixed drinks like Twisted Tea, Smirnoff Ice, and Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

It’s hard to predict the future of these fruity faux-margarita cocktails. Now that they must be advertised as a malt beverage, it is likely that they will have to compete within an increasingly crowded market.

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