Molson Breweries has filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia claiming Labatt Brewing Company is misleading retailers, distributors and customers by putting inconsistent and inaccurate date codes on beer cartons.
Molson says Labatt is putting dates on cartons of John Labatt Classic, Labatt Genuine Draft and Kootenay Black Lager which show the beer as being brewed as much as two months later than it actually is, often not coinciding with the dates on the bottles inside.
Labatt says the product in question is cold-stored or refrigerated after bottling to slow the aging process and that the date on the carton reflects the date of its release from cold storage.
Molson is seeking an injunction to stop Labatt from using inconsistent date codes.
The parties are scheduled to appear in BC Supreme Court on June 30.
