Coppertone Sunscreen False Advertising Settlement Approved at $2.25M

Coppertone Sunscreen False Advertising Settlement Overview:

• Who: Bayer Healthcare LLC and Beiersdorf Inc. have had their $2.25 million settlement with consumers approved.
• Why: The pair argued in their January 2020 class action lawsuit that Bayer and Beiersdorf took advantage of consumers’ desire for true mineral-based sunscreens by mislabeling sunscreens as being mineral-based.
• Where: The settlement occurred in California federal court.

A $2.25 million settlement between the makers of Coppertone sunscreens and customers who alleged the companies falsely advertised the mineral content of the products has been approved by a California federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Nathanael M. Cousins approved the settlement between Steven Prescott and Mike Xavier and defendants Bayer Healthcare LLC and Beiersdorf Inc., finding that it was “fair, reasonable and adequate” and was in the best interests of the consumers given “the degree of recovery obtained in relation to the risks faced by the Settlement Class in litigating the class claims.”

Class members will be eligible to receive $2.50 for every bottle of Coppertone Water Babies Pure & Simple, Coppertone Kids Tear Free and Coppertone Sport Face sunscreens they bought with a limit of four claims without proof of purchase.

Attorneys for the class will get $681,000, a reduction on the $750,000 requested in a previous settlement deal that was rejected by the judge in April. Prescott and Xavier will each get $5,000 in service awards. 

Coppertone Sunscreens Only Contain 10% Mineral Ingredients As Opposed To Standard 24%, Lawsuit Claims

The January 2020 class action lawsuit argued that Bayer and Beiersdorf took advantage of consumers’ desire for true mineral-based sunscreens by mislabeling the Coppertone Water Babies Pure & Simple, Coppertone Kids Tear Free,and Coppertone Sport Face sunscreens as being mineral-based. They said the Coppertone sunscreens actually only contain 10% mineral ingredients, while true mineral-based sunscreens are made up of about 24% with no chemical ingredients.

Bayer and Beiersdorf aren’t the only companies that have faced litigation over the ingredients in sunscreen. In July, Johnson & Johnson announced the recall of five different sunscreen products under Neutrogena and Aveeno brands. According to the company, the products are contaminated with benzene, a dangerous carcinogen that has been linked to leukemia and other cancers.

More than a month before the recall announcement, a patient advocate company released testing data which allegedly found significant traces of benzene in Neutrogena products. These results prompted a class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida

Do you look at the ingredients in the sunscreen that you buy? Let us know in the comments section below!

Prescott and Xavier are represented by Shireen M. Clarkson, Ryan J. Clarkson, Katherine A. Bruce and Lauren E. Anderson of Clarkson Law Firm PC and Christopher D. Moon and Kevin O. Moon of Moon Law APC.

Bayer and Beiersdorf are represented by Alycia A. Degen, Kara L. McCall and Elizabeth M. Chiarello of Sidley Austin LLP.

The Coppertone Sunscreen False Ad Class Action Lawsuit is Prescott et al. v. Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., Case No. 5:20-cv00102, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Benzene Contamination Found in Sunscreen, Antifungal, Antiperspirant Spray Products
• Johnson Controls Can’t Dodge Toxic Chemical Pollution Class Action Lawsuit
• Johnson & Johnson Sold Neutrogena Sunscreen Known to Cause Cancer, Says Class Action
• Coppertone Recalls 12 Lots of Aerosol Sunscreen Spray Products That Contain Carcinogen