P&G Smeared with Class Action Lawsuit over Tide Pods

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Last week, a class action lawsuit was filed against the Procter & Gamble Co. alleging design defects in Tide Pods, the company’s individually packaged laundry soap, cause permanent stains on white clothing.

Lead plaintiffs Lisa Guariglia, Micheline Byrne and Michele Emanuele allege in their class action lawsuit that “Tide Pods have serious design defects (collectively ‘Design Defects’) that cause them to produce permanent blue/purple stains on white and light colored laundry, even when used as directed by P&G on Tide Pods’ packaging.”

According to the Tide Pods class action lawsuit, each plaintiff began using Tide Pods based on advertising “that Tide Pods were a detergent plus stain remover plus brightener and based on the convenience of the product.” The plaintiffs allege that they each experienced mysterious blue and purple stains on clothing and linens, but couldn’t figure out what was causing the stains for some time and continued to use Tide Pods as directed. The plaintiffs contend that they eventually each discovered the cause of the blue and purple stains were the Tide Pods themselves and allege that the pods caused between $200-$650 worth of damage to their laundry in the process.

“Tide Pods are marketed as a detergent, stain remover, and brightener but, rather than cleaning laundry, removing stains, and brightening laundry, Tide Pods actually have the opposite result, by causing permanent blue/purple stains on white and light colored laundry even when used the proper way according to the package directions,” allege the plaintiffs in their class action lawsuit. “On numerous consumer websites as well as on P&G’s own website, P&G has acknowledged that Tide Pods can cause blue/purple stains on laundry and insists that this staining can only occur when the consumer is not using the product correctly.”

The class action lawsuit also alleges that a February Consumer Reports article pointed out consumer complaints about Tide Pods leaving blue and purple stains. According to the Tide Pods class action lawsuit, P&G responded by telling consumers to not overload their washing machines and to place the pod before loading the machine.

“The responses to the staining complaints reported to the Tide Website regarding Tide Pods are consistent,” the Tide Pods class action lawsuit says. “If the consumer did not state specifically that he or she followed the instructions and placed the pods in the washer first, then P&G’s response is that the pods must be placed in the washer first. If the consumer stated that he or she placed the pods in the washer first, then P&G’s response can contain a number of solutions which include: ‘Do not use ‘Delicate’ cycle for heavy loads; Do not use a quick cycle less than 30 minutes; Pods cannot be used in pre-wash cycles; Do not place in the dispenser drawer; Pods can be used in temperatures ranging from 20 to 95 degrees C (68 to 203 degrees F).’”

“It is important to note that these additional washing directions provided by P&G in response to customer complaints of staining are not included on the Tide Pods packaging, and if a consumer did not become privy to these additional washing instructions (it would most likely be in response to a complaint to P&G of staining),” allege the plaintiff, “it would already be too late to avoid the staining problem and the resulting ruined laundry.” The plaintiffs also alleged that P&G’s responses contradict their advertising about the pods.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide class of consumers as well as New York, California, and Florida subclasses. The class action plaintiffs accuse P&G of breaches of warranty and merchantability as well as of violating various state business laws. They seek damages and attorneys’ fees as well as a court order requiring P&G to include a warning label on Tide Pod packaging about the blue and purple stains.

The plaintiffs are represented Mark Levine and Melissa Emert and Patrice L Bishop.

The Tide Pods Class Action Lawsuit case is Guariglia, et al. v. Procter & Gamble Co., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-04307, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

UPDATE: On March 14, 2018,  a federal judge ruled that Procter & Gamble Co. can’t dodge claims in a class action lawsuit alleging Tide Pods are defective because they are ineffective at cleaning clothes and actually cause stains.