The state of Connecticut successfully defended itself against a lawsuit Wednesday and paved the way for it to collect an estimated $6 million in unclaimed nickel deposits on soda and beer bottles.
A dozen soda and beer distributors had attempted to block the state from retroactively taking the unclaimed deposits, which traditionally they had been allowed to keep until late last year when the legislature voted to start counting and taking the money to help close the budget deficit.
“The court has strongly and firmly sided with our argument that there are no legal grounds to stop this $6 million payment tomorrow. These unclaimed deposits now sitting in distributor bank accounts truly belong to consumers and taxpayers, not to the companies,” Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in an emailed statement.
Click here for more background on the legal arguments in the case.
