CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) – An Illinois podiatrist is suing companies that market and sell certain foot inserts over claims they falsely advertise these products as "custom-fit orthotics."
Dr. Lowell Scott Weil and Weil Foot and Ankle Institute, individually and for all others similarly situated, filed a class-action lawsuit Dec. 22 in the Eastern Division of the Northern District Court of Illinois against Bayer AG, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer Consumer Care, Merck & Co., and MSD Consumer Care, alleging unfair competition and violations of the Lanham Act.
The defendants market and advertise their product, Dr. Scholl's Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts, to consumers who suffer from podiatric conditions that require them to use custom-fit orthotics, devices made for patients following actual physical examination and evaluation of patients and their feet. The suit states the defendants falsely market their product as a custom-fit orthotic even though it provides little or no medical benefit and is simply an over-the-counter foot support.
The suit claims the defendants have injured Weil and others in the class because consumers continue to buy the defendants' products rather than actual custom-fit orthotic devices.
Weil and others in the class seek damages, interests, attorney fees and costs of the suit. They are represented by attorneys Michael H. Moirano, Claire Gorman Kenny and Stephen A. Gorman of Moirano Gorman Kenny in Chicago; attorneys Steven M. Levin, Margaret P. Battersby and Cari F. Silverman of Levin & Perconti in Chicago; and attorney William T. McGrath of Davis McGrath in Chicago.
Eastern Division of the Northern District Court of Illinois Case number 1:15-CV-11519