23andMe Class Action Lawsuit Headed to Arbitration

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 federal judge has dismissed seven consolidated class action lawsuits accusing genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. of selling its home DNA testing kits without FDA approval, ruling that consumers must arbitrate their claims as agreed to under 23andMe’s Terms of Service.

23andMe allows customers to submit a saliva sample and be tested for various factors including heritage and potential risk factors for certain diseases. Several customers began filing 23andMe class action lawsuits after the Food and Drug Administration informed the company on Nov. 22, 2013 that it could no longer offer the DNA tests because it was selling them without marketing clearance or approval by the FDA. As a result, claims of false advertising and other counts dominated 23andMe class action lawsuit filings.

In her June 25 Order, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh outlined the process by which customers went through the process for purchasing the 23andMe DNA testing kit. There were two significant portions that led to her granting 23andMe’s motion to compel the claims into arbitration: the purchase and then the registration afterwards. She agreed with plaintiffs that when they made their purchase, they were not bound by any contractual provisions at that time.

However, they also had to sign up for an account online in order to receive their results. At that time, 23andMe requires users to click a box accepting the Terms of Service prior to being able to begin using their account. This was a key point in Judge Koh’s Order: since all of the plaintiffs had created an account, they were governed by the terms of that agreement. Had there been an issue in between the order and the signup, that might have been different.

The 23andMe Class Action Lawsuit is David Tompkins, et al. v. 23andMe, Inc., Case No. 13-cv-05682 in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California.

The consolidated and related cases are Nos.: 5:14-CV-00294-LHK, 5:14-CV-00429-LHK, 5:14-CV-01167-LHK, 5:14-CV-01191-LHK, 5:14-CV-01258-LHK, 5:14-CV-01348-LHK, and 5:14-CV-01455-LHK.

UPDATE: September 2017, the 23andMe DNA testing kit class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.