OAKLAND, Calif. (Legal Newsline) - Having abandoned their effort to certify a nationwide class, lawyers are now asking a federal judge to let them pursue their case on behalf of those who bought ChapStick in California.
Attorneys at Clarkson Law Firm and Moon Law on Dec. 7 filed a motion for class certification in a case that alleges consumers were misled by claims ChapStick products are "100% Natural."
California federal judge Jeffrey White denied defendant GlaxoSmithKline's motion to dismiss last year despite GSK's argument that plaintiff Lisa Moore lacked standing. Moore bought only three of the 26 products at issue in the lawsuit, but White found she had standing for products not purchased.
The suit alleges consumers relied on advertising claims that the ChapStick products were all natural only to find out they contained citric acid and hydrogenated soybean oil, among other ingredients not considered natural.
Class action lawyers are making claims under California consumer protection laws. Two days before asking for class certification, White granted their motion to dismiss nationwide class claims.
"Common evidence proves that the Natural Representations lead reasonable consumers to believe that the products do not contain any artificial ingredients," the motion for class certification says.
Plaintiff lawyers have an expert, J. Michael Dennis, who is conducting a consumer perception study to determine whether the Natural Representations are misleading.
"Specifically, the proposed consumer survey will measure the extent to which the Natural Representations are misleading to consumers," they say. "Specifically, the proposed consumer survey will measure the extent to which the Natural Representations convey to consumers that the Product 'only contains ingredients that exist in nature (that is, contains no artificial ingredients).'"