Maybelline SuperStay Customers Want False Ad Class Action Certified

Maybelline customers who filed a class action lawsuit against the cosmetics company in late 2012 for allegedly falsely advertising that its “SuperStay 24HR” lip and skin products last longer than they do asked a California federal judge on Wednesday to certify their Class.

“This is a textbook case for class certification,” the Feb. 26 motion opened. “All Class Members were harmed in that they paid a premium over other comparable products without the deceptive representation made by Maybelline as well as its competitors.”

The Maybelline class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiffs Yanira Algarin and Patsy Murdock, who are looking to certify a Class of Maybelline customers who purchased any of Maybelline’s 42 types of “SuperStay 24HR Makeup” products, which include lip colors and skin foundations that are advertised to last 24 hours. The makeup line was launched in 2009 and the lip products were launched in 2011.

According to the Maybelline SuperStay class action lawsuit, Maybelline falsely claims that the makeup will last for 24 hours and will not transfer from the skin.

“[Maybelline’s] own documents show that the 24 hour/no transfer representation was not just a ‘substantial factor’ motivating consumer purchases — which is all the law requires to infer reliance and/or causation — but it most likely was the predominant reason consumers purchased these SuperStay Products,” the motion states.

The class action lawsuit charges Maybelline with violating California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

The plaintiffs allege that they paid a lot more for Maybelline’s SuperStay makeup line because of the claims the cosmetics company put on its labels than they would have otherwise, and the products did not come anywhere close to lasting the 24 hours that they were supposed to.

“Plaintiffs bring this action . . . to halt the dissemination of this false, misleading and deceptive advertising message, correct the false and misleading perception it has created in the minds of consumers, and obtain redress for those who have purchased SuperStay 24HR products,” states the second amended class action lawsuit, filed on Sept. 19.

A similar Maybelline SuperStay class action lawsuit was filed against Maybelline in a New York federal court in September 2012, also claiming that its “SuperStay” lipstick and lip gloss don’t last as long as advertised. That class action lawsuit took issue with the claims made about Maybelline’s 10-hour and 14-hour lip products, saying that they wore off in a few hours.

The plaintiffs in the Maybelline 24H SuperStay class action lawsuit are represented by Elaine A. Ryan, Van Bunch, Patricia N. Syverson and Lindsey M. Gomez-Gray of Bonnet Fairbourn Friedman & Balint PC, Stewart M. Weltman of Stuart M. Weltman LLC, Rose F. Luzon, James C. Shah and Natalie Finkelman Bennett of Shepherd Finkelman Miller and Shah LLP,  John F. Edgar of Edgar Law Firm LLC and Mark Schlachet.

The Maybelline SuperStay 24 Class Action Lawsuit is Algarin v. Maybelline LLC, Case No. 3:12-cv-03000, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: A federal judge denied certification to the Maybelline SuperStay class action lawsuit on May 12, 2014.