LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) - The maker of a popular weedkiller is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of misleading and false advertising on the effectiveness of its product.
Elvis Mirzaie, Edison Mirzaie and Romi Mirzaie filed the lawsuit April 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court against Monsanto Co., maker of Roundup. The defendant removed the suit to federal court on June 9.
Roundup advertises that it targets an enzyme found in only plants and not people, but the lawsuit claims that isn't true and the enzyme is found in both.
“Therefore, where (Monsanto) advertises that Round targets an enzyme 'not found in people,' such claim is objectively false and inherently misleading,” the lawsuit said.
The specific enzyme in question is called EPSP synthase, which is produced by “weeds, plants, bacteria, fungi, algae and other microbes,” the lawsuit said.
The suit added “over one hundred trillion bacteria” that produce the enzyme can be found in humans.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to have that information taken off all Roundup labels. The plaintiffs are seeking class status for those that purchased Roundup within the last four years. The suit is also seeking an unspecified amount in damages plus court costs.
The plaintiffs are represented by T. Matthew Phillips, an attorney in Las Vegas.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:15-cv-04361.