Hagens Berman: McDonald’s Sued for Allegedly Mislabeling “Sugar Free” McCafé Beverages, Violating Federal Regulations

Consumers file class-action lawsuit seeking money back for purchases of allegedly misleading “sugar free” beverages containing up to 18 grams of sugar

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumers hit McDonald’s with a class-action lawsuit accusing it of mislabeling eight of its McCafé coffee beverages as “sugar free” despite them containing up to 18 grams of sugar, which attorneys allege violates federal regulations and consumer-protection laws, according to Hagens Berman and co-counsel Sterlington PLLC.

Three named consumers filed the lawsuit on Nov. 6, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accusing the fast-food conglomerate of capitalizing on eight mislabeled McCafé coffee beverages labeled as “sugar free” that actually contain up to 18 grams of sugar, according to the lawsuit.

This amounts to up to 36 times the permissible amount of sugar for legally labeled “sugar free” beverages per large serving, the lawsuit details.

The lawsuit against McDonald’s follows a similar class-action lawsuit Hagens Berman and Sterlington PLLC filed on Oct. 2, 2026, against Starbucks Corporation over the “sugar free” labeling of its beverages. According to the McDonald’s lawsuit, after the Starbucks complaint was filed, McDonald’s began renaming its “Sugar Free” beverages “Reduced Sugar,” but continues to describe some of them as “sugar free” in its marketing.

The lawsuit states that, “…federal law prohibits McDonald’s from calling beverages ‘Sugar Free’ when they contain more than 0.5 grams of sugar per reference amount customarily consumed and per labeled serving, and that state consumer protection laws forbid McDonald’s from selling these products under their false and misleading names.”

Allegedly affected McDonald’s drinks include the Sugar Free French Vanilla Latte, the Sugar Free French Vanilla Cappuccino, the Sugar Free Iced French Vanilla Latte, the Iced Sugar Free French Vanilla Coffee, the Sugar Free Vanilla Latte, the Sugar Free Vanilla Cappuccino, the Sugar Free Iced Vanilla Latte and the Iced Sugar Free Vanilla Coffee. If you purchased one or more of the affected “Sugar Free” McDonald’s McCafé products at any point, you may be affected. Find out more.

The lawsuit states potentially millions of consumers have received misleading information the affected beverages from McDonald’s, at prices of approximately $2.50–$5.50 per beverage, at thousands of McDonald’s locations nationwide and via McDonald’s website and mobile application and the third-party applications like DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.

“‘Sugar Free’ is Patently Untrue"

According to the lawsuit, the beverages also fail to include an FDA-required disclaimer that they are not low-calorie. The FDA imposed this specific labeling requirement because, as the regulation itself states, consumers regard “sugar free” to indicate “a product which is low in calories or significantly reduced in calories.” By using the term without the required legend, McDonald’s conveyed to consumers not only that the so-called “sugar free” drinks contain no sugar — which is allegedly false — but also that they are low in or reduced in calories, which is likewise false, attorneys state.

“There are no two ways about it: ‘sugar free’ means zero sugar, and we believe calling beverages with up to 18 grams of sugar ‘sugar free’ is patently untrue,” said Steve Berman, Hagens Berman co-founder and managing partner. “Consumers deserve to have accurate information about the foods they purchase to make the best choices for their health.”

The lawsuit also states that the sugar content of the affected beverages is not displayed on McDonald’s physical in-store or drive-through display menus or on the product pages displayed by its in-store electronic ordering kiosks. McDonald’s does not affix nutritional labels or other disclosures stating the true “substantial amounts of sugar” in these drinks, according to the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs seek to hold McDonald’s liable because falsely telling consumers that beverages containing sugar in excess of the legal limit are actually ‘Sugar Free’ and failing to include required calorie disclaimers violate state laws against unfair trade practices, consumer fraud, false advertising, and other wrongful conduct,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit brings claims under various state consumer protection laws regarding unfair competition, unjust enrichment, deceptive business practices and more. The proposed class of consumers seeks repayment for those who purchased the affected products without accurate information, as well as court-mandated relief correcting McDonald’s alleged mislabeling.

Learn more about the consumer class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s regarding its allegedly mislabeled “sugar free” beverages.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

About Sterlington PLLC

Sterlington PLLC is a 70-attorney international litigation firm whose plaintiffs’ class action practice focuses on consumer protection, data privacy and cybersecurity, ERISA, and antitrust. Its Complex Litigation attorneys have collectively secured over $500 million in redress for consumers and businesses. Firm partners have been named to the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2026 and 2027), and have also been recognized by The Legal 500 US, The Best Lawyers in America, and Law360’s Consumer Protection Editorial Advisory Board. To learn more, visit https://www.sterlingtonlaw.com/practices/litigation/.

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