CVS Class Actions Claim Retailer Sells Deceptively Marketed Toddler Formula, After-Sun Care Products Contaminated With Benzene

CVS Toddler Formula, After-Sun Benzene Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Stephanie Surratt and Jasmine Lerner filed class action lawsuits against CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health Corporation, respectively. 
• Why: Surratt claims CVS Pharmacy sells deceptively marketed toddler formula, while Lerner claims CVS sells after-sun care products containing benzene, a known human carcinogen. 
• Where: The lawsuits were filed in Illinois and New York federal courts.

A pair of consumers are separately targeting CVS Pharmacy and CVS Health Corporation over health concerns related to products. 

Plaintiff Stephanie Surratt claims CVS Pharmacy sells a formula called Toddler Beginnings that is intended for children between 9 and 18 months old that is misleadingly similar to infant formula. 

Surratt claims CVS Pharmacy makes the formula similar-looking to infant formula to give caregivers the “incorrect impression that the Toddler Beginnings is what children should be fed in the ‘next stage’ beyond infancy.” 

In reality, experts recommend that children beyond 12 months old get their nutritional needs met with “whole cow’s milk, water and healthy whole foods as part of a balanced diet,” according to the class action lawsuit. 

Further, Surrat argues CVS Pharmacy wants to give the impression that the Toddler Beginnings product is subject to the same Food and Drug Administration regulations as infant formula.  

Surratt says she expected the product to be “nutritionally appropriate” for a child in the age range of 9 to 18 months due to its representations and was “disappointed” when she found out this was allegedly not the case. 

She claims CVS Pharmacy is guilty of fraud and unjust enrichment, among other things, and in violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and state consumer fraud acts. 

Surratt wants to represent an Illinois class of consumers, as well as a multistate subclass of consumers who have purchased Toddler Beginnings. 

She is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with monetary, statutory and punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

CVS Health Sells After-Sun Care Products Containing Benzene

Plaintiff Jasmine Lerner, meanwhile, claims CVS Health Corporation sold CVS After-sun Aloe Vera Soothing Spray and After-Sun Aloe Vera Moisturizing Gel containing the chemical benzene, a known human carcinogen. 

Lerner claims CVS falsely advertised the products as being free of “carcinogens, reproductive toxins or other impurities such as benzene.” 

Further, Lerner argues CVS could have avoided selling a contaminated product had it fulfilled its “quality assurance obligations.” 

“If Defendant had fulfilled its quality assurance obligations, Defendant would have identified the presence of the benzene contaminant almost immediately,” the class action lawsuit states. 

The presence of benzene, which has been linked to a variety of ailments, including blood cancers such as leukemia, came to light following a study last year by Valisure, an independent analytical pharmacy, according to the class action lawsuit. 

Lerner claims CVS is guilty of unjust enrichment and breach of implied warranty and in violation of New York General Business Law. She is demanding a jury trial and requesting compensatory and punitive damages for herself and all class members. 

Lerner, who wants to represent a nationwide class and New York subclass of consumers who purchased the products, argues the fact the products contain benzene makes them “worthless” and injured consumers who paid full price for them. 

A wave of class action lawsuits have been filed against companies in the wake of the Valisure study, including Edgewell Personal Care Brands, Bayer and Walmart, among others. 

Click the link to see if you qualify to join a class action lawsuit investigation into benzene in sunscreen (links to paid attorney advertisement). 

Surratt is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates, P.C.

Lerner is represented by Andrew J. Obergfell of Bursor & Fisher, P.A. 

The CVS Toddler Formula, After-Sun Benzene Class Action Lawsuits are Surratt v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-00650, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; and Lerner v. CVS Health Corporation, Case No. 1:22-cv-01013, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Procter & Gamble Sold Old Spice, Secret Antiperspirant Sprays Containing Benzene, New Class Action Claims
• Costco, Johnson & Johnson Reach Class Action Settlement Over Carcinogenic Sunscreen Accusations
• Benzene Contamination Found in Sunscreen, Antifungal, Antiperspirant Spray Products
• More Complaints Filed Against Bayer, Unilever Over Alleged Benzene Contamination In Spray Products