The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 Presidents Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 Presidents Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Trial Academy Master Class 6.0
    • The Business Of Law
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Ninth Circuit Revives Deceptive Cosmetic Labeling Suit

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Larry Bodine

natural cosmeticsThe Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with cosmetic consumers that a reasonable person could be misled by a manufacturer’s use of the word “natural” and “100% vegetarian” on its packaging and revived a suit against the company.

The lower court dismissed the case under a 12(b)(6) motion. However, the Ninth Circuit believed the plaintiffs had sufficiently pleaded their claims.

Free of synthetics?

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. alleged its products were free of synthetic ingredients and charged consumers a higher price for its “100 % vegetarian” makeup.

The plaintiffs claimed they would not have paid the premium price as compared to other products if they were aware the products were not as claimed.

The plaintiffs stated a reasonable consumer would believe that Alba Botanica cosmetics were derived from plants because of the “100 % vegetarian” label.

The court ruled that whether a business engaged in deceptive or misleading practices was generally a question of fact.

See Also: Texas Cow in the Road Case: Frivolous Appeal by Doc Corralled and Dismissed

A manufacturer’s ingredient list or information on its website in itself does not override any misimpressions created by the product labels. Williams v. Gerber Prods Co., 552 F.3d 934, 939 (9th Circ. 2008).

The court concluded that similar to other misleading label claims, the statements that the products were natural or vegetarian, “could be taken as a claim that no synthetic chemicals were in the products.”

The lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs claim was reversed and remanded to consider the plaintiffs claims and the precertification discovery.

This case is Alessandra Balser et al. v. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. Case No 14-55074, U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit, Pasadena CA.

Posted in Blog, Business Law, Class Actions

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

The New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds $165 Million Damage Awards in a Deadly FedEx Crash

The New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds $165 Million Damage Awards in a Deadly FedEx Crash

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday upheld $165 million of jury awards against FedEx in a wrongful-death lawsuit stemmin[Read More...]
Noom Reaches a $56 Million Class Action Settlement Over Its Autorenewal and Cancellation Policy

Noom Reaches a $56 Million Class Action Settlement Over Its Autorenewal and Cancellation Policy

Weight-loss program Noom has agreed to a $56 million settlement to resolve class action claims regarding its autorenewal and [Read More...]
Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Online payday loan companies that charged as much as 919% interest will spend $489 million to reimburse some 555,000 borrower[Read More...]
The State of Minnesota Will Pay $1.5 Million to a Man Who Alleged Excessive Force During an Arrest

The State of Minnesota Will Pay $1.5 Million to a Man Who Alleged Excessive Force During an Arrest

Minneapolis has agreed to pay $1.5 million to a man who said police used excessive force when he was arrested during the prot[Read More...]
A $230 Million Settlement Is Reached Over a 2015 Southern California Oil Spill

A $230 Million Settlement Is Reached Over a 2015 Southern California Oil Spill

The owner of an oil pipeline that spewed thousands of barrels of crude oil onto Southern California beaches in 2015 has agree[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.