How Time Magazine Helped Greedy Lawyers Defame La Croix

If a plaintiff law firm sued mother nature, it would claim that air is unhealthy because it is used to inflate rubber tires.

New Orleans is the nation’s fifth largest litigation hellhole. The epithet isn’t going away anytime soon according to a highly inflammatory if frivolous lawsuit filed against La Croix Sparkling Water. The law firm filing the claim is a two-person New Orleans plaintiff called Beaumont Costales with a unique business model. They believe in image building through populist slogans like a political campaign, communicating legal information to clients through text messages and Emoji’s, and when it comes to doing legal homework, relying on Google. But the real specialty is in catering to journalists in need of a quick clickbait headline.

When the firm filed its claim against La Croix Sparkling Water, it alleged the product contains an ingredient found in insecticides. It turned out to be a legal sleight of hand because an orange fragrance is commonly found in household products. But when Time Magazine received the law firm’s press release, it picked the headline straight up: Lawsuit Accuses LaCroix Seltzer of Containing Artificial Ingredients Used in Cockroach Insecticide. The result was to add credibility to an allegation that…