PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Legal Newsline) – Plaintiffs lawyers’ second chance at a company that makes charcoal-containing toothpaste fares no better than their first, the company says.
For the second time in 2021, Pro Teeth Whitening has filed a motion to dismiss a Rhode Island class action lawsuit that claims charcoal in toothpaste is a “marketing gimmick.” Oklahoma City firm Federman & Sherwood is pursuing the case, along with Hultquist Law of Providence.
But the complaint is more than 100 paragraphs dedicated to summaries of random news articles about activated charcoal, the motion says, as opposed to two paragraphs of individualized allegations on behalf of named plaintiff Chelsea Roussel.
“While the (First Amended Complaint) contains alleged marketing materials for Pro Teeth products, Plaintiff does not allege that she viewed or relied on any of the cited materials,” the motion says.
“Plaintiff fails to allege even the most basic facts regarding her duration of usage, frequency of usage, review and adherence to product directions, how she determined that the product was allegedly abrading her enamel, or any basis at all for her evaluation of Pro Teeth toothpaste.”
The first motion to dismiss claimed the lawsuit was too ambitious, as Roussel, a Florida resident who bought the toothpaste in Rhode Island, sought to represent a nationwide class.
Faced with that first motion, plaintiffs lawyers chose to file an amended complaint. But it is light on relevant facts, the motion says.
“Plaintiff offers no other details regarding her personal use of Pro Teeth toothpaste; her reliance on representations made by Pro Teeth; a description of her use of the toothpaste; the basis for her allegations of fraud; or the basis for her conclusory allegations regarding the effect of the toothpaste. Plaintiff does not allege that she used any other type of Pro Teeth product,” the motion says.