SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Lawyers failed to prove Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena sunscreen caused a woman’s leukemia.
J&J called the arguments put forth by attorneys Courtney Gipson, James Terrell and Lawrence Papale “nearly universally rejected.” They are trying to use plaintiff Elizabeth Bodle as the representative for a proposed class action of Neutrogena users.
But if something doesn’t change San Francisco federal judge Edward Chen’s mind, that won’t happen. He ruled late last month the plaintiffs’ lawyers failed to allege causation.
Bodle’s lawyers never showed she purchased or used sunscreen allegedly contaminated with benzene at a level that could plausibly allegedly cause her leukemia, Chen wrote. He also said she couldn’t show she was diagnosed after she used an allegedly contaminated sunscreen.
“Plaintiff is further advised that her allegations seeking as a single California-based resident to represent a putative nationwide class asserting the laws of all 50 states with regards to products she has not used or purchased is highly problematic,” Chen wrote.
“She is not likely to prevail in any motion to certify such a class…”
Chen dismissed the complaint without prejudice and gave lawyers 60 days to file an amended complaint.
Bodle’s October lawsuit says she because suspicious as to why she would develop acute myeloid leukemia in her early 50s. Through online research, she learned of benzene’s presence in a large number of popular sunscreens, the suit says.
Bodle uses Neutrogena sunscreen, which was subject to a nationwide recall, the suit says. Some batches were found to contain varying levels of benzene, according to a citizen petition by health care products watchdog Valisure.
“Despite the fact that the (first amended complaint) and the Valisure Petition on which it relies identifies only specific batches of JJCI sunscreen products which were allegedly contaminated with benzene, Plaintiff does not allege that she ever purchased or used a product produced from the allegedly contaminated batches,” Chen wrote. “Nor does she allege facts sufficient for the Court to draw an inference that she used an allegedly contaminated product.”
James Murdica and Sandra Ko of Barnes & Thornsburg represent Johnson & Johnson.