Folgers Coffee

This docket consolidates consumer class actions alleging that the manufacturer of Folgers ground coffee, and a major retail partner, overstated the number of servings its coffee canisters could actually produce, marketing certain products as making "up to" a specific number of cups when plaintiffs allege the canisters could not consistently do so. Centralized in the Western District of Missouri in 2021, the docket has narrowed from an original population of 13 total actions to 5 pending, reflecting a slack-fill and serving-count consumer-labeling claim that has resolved a majority of its filed actions over roughly five years.

For a funder, this is a small-dollar, aggregated consumer-labeling matter: individual purchaser damages are modest, and value depends entirely on class-wide aggregation across a large purchaser population under state consumer-protection and warranty theories, plus claims for unjust enrichment. That profile makes this a firm-level litigation cost financing question, if a funding need exists at all, rather than an individual-plaintiff opportunity, since no single purchaser's claim would justify standalone litigation.

With the docket already substantially narrowed and a motion to dismiss defeated earlier in the litigation, remaining diligence should focus on class-certification prospects for the specific claims and state-law theories that have survived to this stage. Criterica Capital's commercial litigation finance line could apply to a firm's litigation cost financing needs in the remaining actions, though the modest scale of this particular docket relative to larger consumer-labeling matters is a relevant sizing consideration. A structure and litigation brief on the current procedural posture is also available.

Pre-settlement funding is a non-recourse purchase of a portion of the proceeds of a pending legal claim — not a loan. If the case does not result in a recovery, nothing is owed. Rates, fees, and repayment terms are disclosed in full in the funding agreement, which the applicant’s attorney reviews before signing. Availability and terms vary by state.