SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Class action lawyers have scored a significant victory in their lawsuit against the maker of ChapStick as they target the company’s “100% Natural” claims.
San Francisco federal judge Jeffrey White ruled on Aug. 6 to deny Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which argues there are 12 ingredients in four specific ChapStick products that are not considered natural, like citric acid and hydrogenated soybean oil.
The lawsuit makes claims under three California consumer protection laws, as well as breach of express warranty and unjust enrichment. All claims will proceed for lawyers at Clarkson Law Firm and Moon Law.
“With regard to the ‘naturally sourced’ representations, Defendants argue that use of ‘naturally’ in labeling does not deceive a reasonable consumer where it is understood as referring only to the source of the ingredients, rather than as a claim that the products were entirely natural,” White wrote.
“Here… Defendants’ ‘naturally sourced’ representations – ‘Naturally Sourced Ingrediens’ and ‘100% Naturally Sourced Ingredients – refer specifically to the Products’ ingredients. Accordingly, it is plausible that a reasonable consumer would understand these statements to mean that the products are free of synthetic ingredients.”
Plaintiffs lawyers filed the suit on Dec. 16 in California federal court. They say claims of “100% Natural” and “100% Naturally Sourced Ingredients” are misleading buyers of four specific products – Natural Lip Butter, Natural Lip Balm, Essential Oils Lip Balm and Hydration Moisture + Tint Lip Balm.
“(T)he products actually contain numerous non-natural, synthetic, artificial and/or highly processed ingredients,” the suit says. “Through falsely, misleadingly and deceptively labeling the products, Defendants sought to take advantage of consumers’ desire for truly natural products.”