Hain Celestial Seeks Dismissal of Jason, Avalon Organics Class Action Lawsuit

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The Hain Celestial Group Inc. asked a federal judge last week to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing it of tricking customers into believing its Avalon Organics and Jason brand cosmetics are “pure” and “organic,” even though they contain “significant amounts of non-organic ingredients.”

Plaintiffs Rosminah Brown and Eric Lohela allege in the Hain Celestial class action lawsuit that that Jason’s “pure, natural and organic” tagline and Avalon Organics’ name itself – which appears on the products’ front labels — violate the California Organic Products Act, which requires products to contain 70 percent or more organic ingredients if they say “organic” on the front.

Hain Celestial urged U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler to dismiss the class action lawsuit, arguing that the word “organic” on their labels doesn’t refer to products or ingredients, and that any reasonable consumer would understand this by looking at the products’ ingredient list.

Under federal rules, Hain said, companies are allowed to use the word “organic” on front labels if it doesn’t refer to specific ingredients.

“The word organic on [our] label does not modify the name of the product, and it does not modify any content,” Hain’s attorney, William Friedman, told the judge. “You can’t look at one word in isolation. You have to look at the front and the back of the label.”

Furthermore, Friedman said, the products’ ingredient lists contain many items that are obviously not organic. “As a reasonable consumer, you can’t look at this and think this is an organic product,” he said.

Judge Beeler responded that it’s a good argument, but “I’m not sure if it’s a good argument now, at the pleading stage.”

Beeler also found arguments from the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mark Todzo, compelling.

Todzo argued that the USDA’s National Organic Program also said the word “organic” can’t be used on a product label except to describe a product or ingredient, and that Avalon Organics is welcome to use its name on the back of a product label.

“Nothing says it needs to be on the front label,” Todzo said.

Judge Beeler responded, “That’s a big argument.”

She declined to hear arguments on Hain’s other motion to strike the class allegations, saying she is likely to rule against it.
Keep checking Top Class Actions for updates on the Hain Celestial Jason & Avalon Organics Class Action Lawsuit as they unfold.

The case is Brown, et al. v. The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Case No. 11-cv-3082, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

UPDATE: A website for the Hain Celestial class action lawsuit has been established, and a trial date has been set for Aug. 6, 2015. Click here or visit www.HainOrganicCosmeticsLawsuit.com for more information.

UPDATE 2: A settlement has been reached in the JASON/Avalon Organics class action lawsuit, according to court documents filed on Sept. 22, 2015.

UPDATE 3: Claim filing instructions for the JASON/Avalon Organics settlement are now available!

UPDATE 4: On Oct. 15, 2016, Top Class Actions viewers who submitted timely and valid claims for the Hain Celestial JASON, Avalon Organics class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $93! Congratulations to all our readers who filed a claim and got PAID!