$10M Suave Keratin Infusion Settlement Affirmed by Appeals Court

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The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a $10.2 million class action settlement over allegations Unilever PLC’s Suave Keratin Infusion products caused consumers’ hair to fall out.

In deciding to uphold the Suave Keratin settlement, the appellate court overruled several objections raised by Class Member Tina Martin, finding that some of her arguments seemed to contradict each other.

Martin had argued that the 500 injury claims filed for the Unilever class action settlement suggests that too few people will benefit from the deal, causing too much money to be returned to the product’s manufacturer. However, she also points to an estimate by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the wake of the 2012 Suave Keratin recall as a sign that the number of claims will increase dramatically and drain the amount of money available in the settlement fund.

The appellate court found that Martin’s speculation about the influx of claims was unsupported. About 2,300 claims were reportedly received by the settlement administrator by the end of the claims period. The fairness hearing reportedly took place about two thirds of the way through the claims period.

Martin also had some concerns about the $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees that were provided for by the class action settlement. She was concerned that the final fee award would not be determined until the settlement received final approval. The panel found that this procedure was not prohibited, and that it was less of a concern because the attorneys’ fees are separate from the settlement fund.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo noted in July that he thought that as much as 40 percent of the Suave Keratin class action settlement fund may revert back to Unilever. Although this was a concern, the judge found that the Class would still enjoy a significant recovery.

The Suave Keratin class action lawsuit was initially filed in 2012 on behalf of consumers who purchased Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion 30 Day Smoothing Kit, a product that allegedly causes significant hair loss.

According to the Suave Keratin Smoothing Kit class action lawsuit, Unilever made false statements about the safety of the Smoothing Kit and failed to disclose that it posed an unreasonable risk of hair and/or scalp injury. The product was recalled in May 2012.

Unilever agreed to pay $10.2 million to settle the Suave Keratin class action lawsuit, and the deal received final approval in July 2014. The deadline to file a claim for the Suave Keratin class action settlement passed on Sept. 25, 2014.

The Class is represented by Marvin A. Miller, Lori A. Fanning and Andrew Szot of Miller Law LLC, Peter Safirstein, Elizabeth S. Metcalf and Christopher S. Polaszek of Morgan & Morgan PC, and Jana Eisinger of Law Office of Jana Eisinger PLLC.

Martin is represented by Ronald A. Marron of the Law Offices of Ronald Marron, Nancy Hendrickson of the Hendrickson Law Firm, and C. Benjamin Nutley.

The Unilever Suave Keratin Infusion Class Action Lawsuit is Sidney Reid, et al. v. Unilever United States Inc., et al., Case No. 14-30009, in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

UPDATE: On Mar. 30, 2016, according to the settlement website, the settlement is expected to become final on June 23, 2016 and checks will be mailed out to Class Members in early July. 

UPDATE 2: On July 5, 2016, Top Class Actions readers who filed for Benefit Option A started receiving checks worth as much as $50! 

UPDATE 3: On July 12, 2016, Top Class Actions readers who filed for Benefit Option C started receiving checks worth as much as $10,060!