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A hand sanitizer sold by CVS does not kill 99.9 percent of germs, as it says on the label, a proposed class action lawsuit alleges.
In a motion filed Monday in a California federal court, Plaintiff Joseph Mier asked a judge to certify his class action claiming CVS’ product labeling for hand-sanitizer — “kills 99.99 percent of germs” — is misleading to consumers.
Mier said he bought a bottle of CVS’ Advanced Formula Hand Sanitizer in Aug. 2019, believing it killed almost all germs.
However, he said many studies have shown alcohol-based hand-sanitizer does not kill many types of germs, such as norovirus, bacterial spores and some parasites like Giardia, and that other studies have shown bacteria are becoming alcohol resistant.
“Accordingly, ‘kills 99.99% of germs’ is a false statement,” he said. To back up his claims, Mier has enlisted a microbial expert, Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr., who added that many germs would not have been tested by the company.
Mier added that the CVS front label contains an asterisk which leads to a statement on the back in “miniscule font” that clarifies the 99.9% claim relates to only “many common harmful germs and bacteria.”
Mier had a marketing expert testify that a reasonable consumer would rely on the CVS label to determine the potency of its product, and that had it been more clear about its incapability to kill 99.9% of germs, people would be less willing to buy it.
Mier is seeking to certify a class of California consumers who had bought the sanitizer in the last four years.
According to the motion, CVS has sold more than $7 million worth of the hand sanitizer during the class period.
Mier first filed his suit in state court in May, and CVS removed it to federal court last week, Law360 reported. It said CVS moved to throw out the suit in October, arguing Mier was an “opportunist” who hasn’t even said he used the product.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, hand sanitizer and its efficacy has been at the center of a number of class action lawsuits. A similar lawsuit in 2020 argues that REI SafeHands Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer cannot kill 99.99% of all germs, as advertised.
Did you buy hand-sanitizer believing it killed 99.9% of all known germs? Let us know in the comments!
Mier is represented by Justin F. Marquez, Thiago Coelho, Robert Dart and Cinela Aziz of Wilshire Law Firm PLC.
The CVS Hand Sanitizer Class Action Lawsuit is Mier v. CVS Health, Case No. 8:20-cv-01979, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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