Coppertone loses bid to dismiss facial sunscreen lawsuit

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Update:

• A federal judge in Connecticut declined to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing Coppertone parent company Beiersdorf Inc. of deceptively labeling Coppertone Face 50 Sport Mineral sunscreen.
• The consumer behind the complaint claims the sunscreen is deceptively labeled to make it appear like it was specifically formulated for use on a person’s face. 
• Beiersdorf argues the Coppertone Face 50 Sport Mineral sunscreen was not marketed as a face-only product, while explaining it could be used on other parts of the body. 
• The judge, in declining to dismiss the allegations, ruled a factual dispute exists over whether the Coppertone sunscreen was specifically formulated for faces. 
• Beiersdorf also unsuccessfully argued the consumer had not suffered any actual injury and, thus, lacked standing under the California statutes the claims were brought under. 

Coppertone class action overview: 

• Who: A consumer who bought Coppertone Sport Mineral “Face” sunscreen sued the manufacturer of the sunscreen, Beiersdorf Inc. 
• Why: The consumer says the “face” sunscreen is exactly the same as the regular sunscreen; however, it is sold at an inflated price.
• Where: The case was filed in Connecticut federal court.

(July 13, 2022)

The company that owns Coppertone tricks consumers into thinking they are buying sunscreen lotion especially formulated for the face when in reality they are just buying regular sunscreen in a smaller — and far more expensive — bottle, a new class action lawsuit alleges.

Plaintiff Tonya Akes filed the class action lawsuit against Coppertone owner Beiersdorf Inc. on July 11 in a Connecticut federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer laws. 

According to the lawsuit, Beiersdorf makes Coppertone Sport Mineral “Face” products with labeling that deceives consumers into thinking the sunscreen is especially formulated for the face when it is in fact identical to regular Coppertone Sport Mineral, which costs half as much. 

“Per ounce, the Sport Mineral FACE lotion costs twice as much as Coppertone’s regular (i.e., non-face) Sport Mineral lotion,” the Coppertone class action states. “But reasonable consumers buy it anyway, because they want a product that is specifically formulated for use on their face.” 

Coppertone class action alleges same product, different labels

Coppertone puts the same sunscreen into two different bottles with different labels and different prices, thus deceiving customers, Akes claims.

“No reasonable consumer who understood that Coppertone Sport Mineral FACE is identical to regular Coppertone Sport Mineral would choose to pay twice as much for it,” the Coppertone class action says. 

Akes looks to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased Coppertone Sport Mineral “Face” products plus a California subclass and a subclass of consumers from California, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Missouri, Washington and Connecticut. 

She’s suing under state consumer laws and for unjust enrichment and seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs, disgorgement of profits and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, in October, Coppertone voluntarily recalled 12 lots of Coppertone aerosol sunscreen spray products manufactured between the dates of Jan. 10, 2021, and June 15, 2021, as it identified the presence of benzene, a human carcinogen, in these lots of products. 

In 2021, Coppertone inked a $2.2 million settlement to end a class action lawsuit alleging some of its products were misleadingly labeled as “mineral-based” when they actually contained chemical active ingredients in addition to the mineral active ingredients. 

From widespread claims of benzene contamination to allegations of dishonest ingredient disclosures, false advertising and labeling and misleading environmental friendliness touts, among other things, sunscreen brands have been in consumer crosshairs. Check out our list of the worst sunscreen brands in America, according to the number of class actions leveled against them recently. 

What do you think about the allegations in this case? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Simon Franzini and Jonas B. Jacobson of Dovel & Luner LLP and Seth R. Klein and Craig A. Raabe of Izard, Kindall & Raabe LLP. 

The Coppertone Face sunscreen class action lawsuit is Tonya Akes v. Beiersdorf, Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-00869, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. 

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