DOWNTOWN — A man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Walgreens, alleging the company incorrectly applied Cook County's new pop tax to some sales.
The suit, filed by Vincent de Leon, of Schaumburg, alleges Walgreens knew the tax was being applied incorrectly to some products but "has not taken any steps to provide corrections at the cash register."
De Leon is asking for damages of $50,000 or more, which would include refunds for those who were charged the tax.
The tax went into effect last week, applying a penny-per-ounce tax to sweetened beverages like pop and Yoo Hoo. Unsweetened beverages like LaCroix were supposed to be exempt, but DNAinfo found Walgreens was applying the tax to sales of LaCroix.
Unsweetened sparkling water, like LaCroix, is NOT subject to the sweetened beverage tax. Don’t believe otherwise.
— Toni Preckwinkle (@ToniPreckwinkle) August 1, 2017
Walgreens said last week it had "inadvertently coded some of our products incorrectly" and was "working to resolve this complex issue as soon as possible."
De Leon's suit alleges people buying Dasani sparkling water and Lipton unsweetened green tea at Walgreens in the city and in the suburbs on Thursday and Friday were incorrectly charged the pop tax.
The tax being incorrectly applied violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and unjustly enriched Walgreens, according to the suit.
Walgreens could not immediately be reached for comment.
The tax on LaCroix quickly led to a tongue-in-cheek uproar among fans of the drink, who are known for their passionate love of the beverage.
"First the[y] came for my income, and I said nothing," one person posted on Reddit on Wednesday. "But I just got taxed $1.44 on my LaCroix, which is clearly marked as unsweetened ... . Even with all the crazy s--- happening in this country, this makes me want to riot the most."
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which has been battling the new tax in court, is working with businesses to help them understand what should and shouldn't be taxed, said Tanya Triche Dawood, the organization's vice president.
"I know that they're doing the best job that they can, but as you can imagine, with all the thousands of products that can qualify there will probably be some mistakes made," Triche Dawood said. "It could be a tricky test to make sure that everything that's supposed to be taxed is taxed."
It's not the first time Walgreens has taxed drinks it shouldn't: The chain incorrectly applied the Chicago Bottled Water Tax to seltzer and sparkling water (including LaCroix), possibly for years, DNAinfo found in 2015.
Walgreens was sued for the mistake by a Chicago man, but the case was dismissed.
After that happened, DNAinfo found other stores — including 7-Eleven and Whole Foods — also were incorrectly taxing sparkling water brands.
Walgreens "Pop Tax" Lawsuit by Kelly Bauer on Scribd
