Plaintiffs Bow Out of Walgreens Ear Drop Class Action Lawsuit

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The two lead plaintiffs in a Walgreens homeopathic ear drop class action lawsuit agreed to a mutual dismissal of their case with the retail giant, ending their allegations that the products did not work as advertised.

There have been similar class action lawsuits citing U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations requiring ear pain treatments to come with a prescription, but Danielle Demison and Teri Spano instead alleged that the products were simply ineffective. For example, two key components in both the homeopathic earache drops and the ear pain relief are chamomilla and sulphur, both of which are listed at 30 C. This is many times more diluted than 12 C, which according to outside sources is equivalent to a bit of salt in the Atlantic Ocean.

While Walgreens had sought to sever the claims of two class action lawsuit plaintiffs because of differences in the product, U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz had disagreed, deciding that the similarity in the chemicals and the composition would lead to enough questions of fact that could be tried by a jury if things proceeded that far. In agreeing to the joint motion to dismiss the homeopathic ear drop class action lawsuit, Judge Moskowitz left open the possibility of other plaintiffs bringing similar claims.

They would not be alone. As mentioned above, there are a growing number of plaintiffs who are a considering a class action lawsuit regarding their beliefs about the efficacy of homeopathic ear drops and other remedies from that field of study. Some of them have had more success than others.

Last summer, a judge certified a class of consumers who alleged that they were misled about the efficacy of Hyland’s homeopathic drug products. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee wrote that “homeopathic remedies are predicated in part on the ‘principle of dilutions under which active ingredients are thought to be more effective when they are significantly diluted,” but agreed with the Class representative that there were questions given that the FDA had not verified any of the company’s claims.

Others rely specifically on the FDA’s requirements for ear drops for pain in children. There, the FDA noted that because of the potential for serious infections, they should only be made available with a prescription from a doctor.

The lead plaintiffs, Danielle Demison and Teri Spano, are represented by Ronald A. Marron and Skye Resendes of Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron, and Jeffrey M. Salas of Salas Wang LLC.

The Walgreens Homeopathic Ear Drop Class Action Lawsuit is Danielle Demison, et al. v. Walgreen Co. Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-00306, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.