Uh, Oh! Four Loko Named in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By Chuck Sudo in Food on May 20, 2011 4:40PM

A Washington, DC family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Phusion Projects, the Chicago company that makes Four Loko. The suit contends that 15-year-old John "Bo" Rupp drank two cans of Four Loko at a concert in September and began "acting erratically."

Rupps parents were contacted to pick up their son. When they made it home, Rupp took off running and was struck and killed when he ran onto a busy road. The Rupps, represented partly by the Chicago firm Cooney and Conway, claim Phusion was "careless and negligent" in producing Four Loko.

A statement released by Phusion read that their sympathies are with the Rupps, reiterated that they've been producing Four Loko without caffeine, guarana and taurine since November, and that "we work very hard to ensure our products are consumed safely and responsibly by adults over the age of 21, and we have a vested interest - both personal and professional - in assuring the continued responsible consumption of our products. We are staunch supporters of the need for increased education, stronger enforcement of existing laws and personal responsibility. Those that sell or provide alcohol to minors should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."