Coleman Class Action Says Insect Repellent Bands Don’t Work

The Coleman Company has been hit with a class action lawsuit by consumers who claim that the insect repellent wrist bands sold by the company are ineffective in repelling mosquitoes.

Plaintiff Janet Fishman-Palmer says she purchased three Coleman Bands from Walmart in the summer of 2018 for $10 each.

The Coleman class action complaint states that the wrist bands contain 40.2 percent citronella oil and 17.8 percent geraniol along with a small amount of other ingredients that include peppermint oil and geranium oil.

The plaintiff claims that before she bought the wrist bands, she read on the packaging that the product was an insect repellent that “repels mosquitoes.” However, the plaintiff says the wrist bands didn’t work.

The Coleman insect repellent class action states that the plaintiff would not have purchased the products, or would have paid a lower price for them, if she knew that the representations were misleading and false.

Fishman-Palmer points to a Consumer Reports segment where they reportedly tested the defendant’s bands and found that the bands were ineffective in staving off mosquitoes.

In addition, the Coleman class action lawsuit points to a peer-reviewed study that allegedly found that wristbands with peppermint oil “do not prevent mosquito landings.”

The plaintiff claims that another peer-reviewed article published in the New England Journal of Medicine states that a wristband with 25 percent citronella provided only 12 seconds of protection.

The Coleman class action lawsuit also states that experts in the field are also critical of products that contain citronella. The plaintiff points to an article published in the Journal of American Mosquito Control Association which reported that “use of citronella by the general public [to repel mosquitoes] should be discouraged.”

“By the acts and conduct alleged herein, Defendant committed unfair or deceptive acts and practices by making false representations on the labeling of Coleman Bands,” the Coleman class action lawsuit claims.

The plaintiff says Coleman has violated New York General Business Law section 349 and 350 and also makes claims of Breach of Express Warranty, Fraud, and Unjust Enrichment.

The plaintiff states that in November 2019, the defendant was sent a pre-suit notice letter, which advised Coleman that they had breached an express warranty and asked that the company “cease and desist” from the breaches and by refunding the monies that were made by selling the mosquito repellent wrist bands.

The prospective Class Members in this case include, “all persons in the United States who purchased Coleman Bands.”

Coleman isn’t the only company facing claims that insect repellent does not work as represented. In August 2018, Ecosmart was sued on similar claims. In addition, in a class action lawsuit was filed against S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., the maker of OFF! Family Care Clean Feel Insect Repellent, calling the product a “complete sham.”

Did you purchase Coleman Mosquito Repellent Wrist Bands and found that they do not work? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Yitzchak Kopel and Alec M. Leslie of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Coleman Mosquito Repellent Wrist Band Class Action Lawsuit is Janet Fishman-Palmer v. The Coleman Company Inc., Case No. 7:19-cv-11301, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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