$6.3M J&J Infants’ Tylenol Class Action Settlement Nears Approval

A federal judge says he will likely approve a $6.3 million settlement deal which would end class action claims that Johnson & Johnson falsely advertise their Infants’ Tylenol as being substantially different from their Children’s Tylenol.

Last Thursday, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu said that there were no issues with the settlement deal that stood out, other than the number of Class Members who could receive benefits should be increased.

He instructed the plaintiffs and Johnson & Johnson to make these revisions by October 17, so they will be ready for the next hearing which will take place on October 21.

Reportedly, this settlement deal was reached after almost two years of litigation. The settlement would require Johnson & Johnson to pay $6.315 million to customers allegedly affected by the Infants’ Tylenol misrepresentations. 

Under the terms of the proposed Johnson & Johnson class action settlement, customers would be eligible to receive $2.15 per bottle of Infants’ Tylenol purchased, up to a maximum of seven bottles without proof of purchase meaning that Class Members can receive up to $15 without providing receipts.

Customers who do have proof of purchase are eligible to receive the same amount per bottle without limits on the number of bottles for which they can receive compensation.

Class counsel is seeking $2.1 million from the settlement fund and up to $516,000 will be used to pay for settlement administration expenses.

The proposed Tylenol class action settlement also details how customers will be notified of the deal — reportedly via a magazine notice, digital advertisements, a case website, and a summary notice to reach the widest number of potential Class Members possible.

The customers in the Infants’ Tylenol labeling class action lawsuit say that Johnson & Johnson misled new parents into believing that the drug’s formula is unique or formulated specifically for infants.

However, the Tylenol class action lawsuit claims that this is not true, saying that both Children’s Tylenol and Infants’ Tylenol contain 160 mg of acetaminophen.

The customers say that the advertisements and labeling of the Infants’ Tylenol, including the name and the image of a parent holding a baby on the label, would mislead customers into believing the medicine has a formula specifically designed for babies.

Allegedly, the only substantive difference between Children’s Tylenol and Infants’ Tylenol are the sizes of medication bottles, as well as the dosing device sold with the medicines.

In their Infants’ Tylenol class action lawsuit, the customers claim that Johnson & Johnson’s representations of the product violate California law.

The customers note that they did receive Class certification for their Infants’ Tylenol class action lawsuit, but it was limited to California consumers. As part of the proposed settlement, the plaintiffs are asking the court to approve a national Class. 

Did you purchase Infants’ Tylenol because you believed it was different from Children’s Tylenol? What do you think of the proposed settlement?

The Class is represented by Gillian L. Wade and Sara D. Avila of Milstein Jackson Fairchild & Wade LLP, and Richard D. Heideman, Noel J. Nudelman and Tracy Reichman Kalik of Heideman Nudelman & Kalik PC.

The Johnson & Johnson Infants’ Tylenol False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Rony Elkies, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-07320, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: January 2020, the Johnson & Johnson Infants’ Tylenol class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

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