A Grand Rapids, Michigan, woman is suing Monster Beverage Corp., the maker of Monster Energy drinks, after she claims she found a dead mouse in a Monster Energy drink can.
Plaintiff McKenzie Cain claims in a lawsuit, which was transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Monday, that she found a dead mouse at the bottom of a Monster Energy drink can after consuming the beverage. Cain initially filed the lawsuit in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Kent County in September 2024.
Cain bought a can of Monster Energy Drink from a Big Apple Bagels in Grand Rapids in April 2024, according to the lawsuit. After consuming the beverage, Cain claims she picked up the can and felt that it was still “oddly heavy.”
Cain further opened the can and, “to her horror, found a dead mouse laying in the bottom of the can,” her lawsuit claims.
McKenzie Cain
Cain claims that since then she suffered “severe emotional distress, trauma and physical illness” and that the incident has caused her “ongoing physical and emotional distress, resulting in medical expenses for counseling and treatment.”
Cain is suing Monster Beverage, claiming the company was negligent by failing to ensure that its products “were safe for consumption and free from harmful contaminants” and that the company is liable for any injuries and damages that she suffered because her beverage “contained a harmful and dangerous defect — a dead mouse.”
The lawsuit also claims that Monster Beverage breached the implied warranty of merchantability.
Marc P. Miles of Shook Hardy & Bacon, representing Monster Beverage, claims the lawsuit is a copycat claim and is based on an Internet hoax.
“Strict manufacturing processes and technology make it impossible for a mouse to be sealed inside a Monster Energy drink,” said Miles in a statement. “The lawsuit is frivolous, and Monster Energy looks forward to, once again, exposing this hoax,” and claimed that the man drank part of his Monster Energy before leaving the open can in his car for several hours.
In 2011, a Washington state man filed a similar lawsuit against Monster Beverage, claiming he found a dead mouse in a can of Monster Energy. At the time, the beverage company said the lawsuit was “frivolous, unfounded, and is nothing more than a shakedown.”
Cain is seeking at least $25,000, plus interest, costs and attorney fees, as well as any relief that the court deems appropriate, according to her lawsuit.
