Johnson & Johnson False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Tossed

The Johnson & Johnson false advertising class action lawsuit over the marketing of its talc products has been brushed off by the company for the last time under a recent ruling by a California federal court.

The class action lawsuit was first filed in May 2019, in San Diego Superior Court, raising claims under California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, False Advertising Law, and California’s Unfair Competition Law. It was moved to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California shortly after, in July 2019.

After four complaints were dismissed by a federal judge with leave to amend, Plaintiffs Louisa Guttierez and Debbie Luna filed their fifth amended complaint on Aug. 24, 2020, alleging the company misrepresented that its talc products were “pure” and “asbestos-free.”

However, the two consumers failed to rectify issues from the previous pleadings, concluded U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson who ordered the class action lawsuit to be dismissed without the opportunity to amend.

“Granting leave to amend would allow plaintiffs to file a sixth amended complaint in order to address the same shortcomings that have persisted in their pleadings,” stated the order dismissing the most recently amended filing. “Given how little plaintiffs have changed the [fifth amended complaint] from the [third amended complaint], it seems unlikely that plaintiffs can rectify the same fundamental deficiencies that have plagued their complaints.”

According to the dismissal order, the fifth amended complaint failed to establish which of Johnson & Johnson’s advertisements touting the safety of its products deceived consumers. Guttierez and Luna attempted to argue that they did not need to point to any single advertisement because the company had engaged in such a long and pervasive campaign of misinformation about the talc in its products; however, Judge Robinson rejected this line of reasoning.

In addition to dismissing the Johnson & Johnson false advertising class action lawsuit, Judge Robinson dismissed claims against the other defendant, Bausch, because the plaintiffs failed to establish that Bausch had any say in the talc products’ marketing.

What do you think of the Johnson & Johnson false advertising claims? Tell us in the comment section below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Mark D. Potter and James M. Treglio of Potter Handy LLP.

The Johnson & Johnson False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Gutierrez et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. et al., Case No. 3:19-cv-01345, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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