$16M Zicam Cold Remedy Class Action Settlement Granted Final OK

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

A Zicam class action lawsuit over false advertising claims has drawn to a close after a California federal judge granted final approval to a $16 million settlement.

The Zicam class action lawsuit was lodged by consumers who claimed that the company’s marketing statements that the over-the-counter homeopathic medication could shorten the common cold or prevent it entirely were false and misleading.

The Class Members in the Zicam class action lawsuit included consumers around the U.S. who bought any of the following Zicam products: Ultra Crystals, RapidMelts Ultra, Zicam RapidMelts Original, Lozenges Ultra, Liqui-Lozenges, Medicated Fruit Drops and Chewables, and Oral Mist.

Impacted Class Members are those consumers who bought these items between February 2011 and June 2018.

According to the Zicam class action lawsuit, more than 25 million of these products were sold across the country.

The Zicam class action lawsuit was first brought in January 2014 by lead plaintiff Yesenia Melgar. Melgar argued that defendants Zicam LLC and Matrixx Initiatives Inc. falsely represented the benefits of the homeopathic medicine.

The lead plaintiff took the most issue with advertising statements that the medicine was “clinically proven” to cut down the time period of the common cold, as well as the claims that it reduced the severity of the cold.

The Class Members in the Zicam class action lawsuit were certified by the judge in March 2016. The first request for the judge to review the settlement and provide preliminary approval occurred in May 2018.

Melgar had previously told the company that she had evidence on her side to show that the OTC meds were nothing but placebos.

The plaintiff says that she had reviewed insights from academic research, experts, and discovery that occurred previously in the case to come to the conclusion that the claims made about the drugs were false and misleading.

However, the plaintiff also acknowledged the high risk of going to trial, which ultimately led the involved parties to consider settlement. The settlement deal in the Zicam class action does not require that either one of the defendants admit to any wrongdoing.

“Plaintiff believes that she could prove to a jury that the Zicam Products are mere placebos,” the motion for final approval said. “That belief is based on the testimony of plaintiff’s experts, the academic literature, and the discovery taken in this action. But plaintiff also understands that proceeding to trial poses serious risks. Such considerations have been found to weigh heavily in favor of settlement.”

False ad claims have previously been filed against Matrixx, when the FDA told the company in June 2011 that their marketing of two Zicam products without express agency approval was a problem.

A warning letter was sent to the manufacturer at that time since the involved products, the RapidMelts with Vitamin C and Echinacea and RapidMelts with Vitamin C, were marketing in violation of federal laws.

The deadline to file a claim for the Zicam effectiveness class action settlement passed on Oct. 3, 2018.

If you missed out, sign up for our free newsletter to receive updates on new class action lawsuits and settlements. You can also check out which class action settlements are still accepting claims in our Open Class Action Settlements section.

The Class is represented by Scott A. Bursor, L. Timothy Fisher and Thomas A. Reyda of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Zicam Cold Remedy Class Action Lawsuit is Melgar v. Zicam, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-00160, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

UPDATE: On Oct. 28, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks from the Zicam cold remedy class action settlement worth as much as $172.30. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!