ALAMEDA, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — A California public health hazards advocacy nonprofit is claiming the makers and distributors of Hotze Vitamins sold their products containing lead to consumers in California.
Environmental Research Center (ERC) filed a complaint Dec. 10 in the Alameda County Superior Court against Hotze Health & Wellness Center International One LLC individually an doing business as Hotze Vitamins and others alleging violation of the Health & Safety Code and the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.
The ERC alleges that the defendants "knowingly and intentionally" sold their nutritional products such as detox powder, probiotics, food items and vitamins even though they contain lead. The ERC claims the defendants failed to provide warning labels to consumers about the presence of lead in their products and falsely represented the products through Steven Hotze, MD, as being healthy and pure products.
The defendant removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Jan. 16.
The ERC seeks monetary, injunctive and all other proper relief. It is represented by Micheal Freund of Michael Freund & Associates in Berkeley.