CHICAGO — A man has filed a class-action lawsuit against The Art Institute of Chicago for improperly charging him a now-repealed Cook County sweetened beverage tax when he bought a 100 percent juice drink.
David Hackel filed a complaint on Oct. 10 in the Cook County Circuit Court, alleging he purchased a Tropicana Orange Juice beverage on Sept. 21 and was charged a sweetened beverage tax. The plaintiff holds the defendant responsible for allegedly charging him, even though the drink he purchased allegedly contained 100 percent orange juice and did not have any artificial sweeteners.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against the defendant, including actual damages, court costs, interest and any further relief this court grants. He is represented by Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr., Sharon A. Harris, Matthew C. DeRe, Nickolas J. Hagman and Maebetty Kirby of Zimmerman Law Offices P.C. in Chicago.
The controversial sweetened beverage tax was repealed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 11.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 2017CH13568