Judge Won’t Dismiss Zantrex Weight Loss Supplement Class Action

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Last week, a New York federal judge refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit that alleges Zantrex weight loss products are ineffective, finding that the defendants’ attempt to settle the litigation last year did not render the plaintiffs’ claims moot.

The Zantrex class action lawsuit was filed against Zoller Laboratories LLC, Basic Research LLC, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and other defendants in December 2013. Plaintiffs Ashley Brady and Stephanie Dalli Cardillo allege that the Zantrex weight loss products, which are manufactured by Zoller Laboratories, are not safe or effective for appetite suppression or weight control.

Brady and Cardillo also claim in the Zantrex class action lawsuit that Snooki, a former Jersey Shore star and spokeswoman for Zantrex, duped consumers into purchasing the weight loss products. Snooki is named as a defendant because she used to be an official endorser of Zantex, though her endorsement contract has since expired.

According to the false advertising class action lawsuit, Brady and Cardillo purchased Zantrex-3 and Zantrex-3 High Energy Fat Burner, which were allegedly marketed as clinically proven weight control supplements.

In March 2015, the defendants reportedly offered to settle the Zantrex class action lawsuit, but the plaintiffs did not accept the proposed deal. Subsequently, the defendants sought to dismiss the class action lawsuit, arguing that the plaintiffs’ claims had been mooted because of their refusal to accept the $400 settlement offer, which they claim is the maximum amount the plaintiffs could possibly recover.

U.S. District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein disagreed with the defendants’ assertion, pointing to a January ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which prohibits defendants from “picking off” class action lawsuits by offering a settlement. In this Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez decision, the Supreme Court held that when a settlement offer is refused and the defendant continues to deny liability, “adversity between the parties persist,” according to Judge Feuerstein’s order.

“Defendants’ Rule 68 offer was ‘neither an admission of liability nor an admission that plaintiffs suffered any damages,” Judge Feuerstein wrote in her order. “And plaintiffs did not accept defendants’ offer. Accordingly, Gomez is directly on point and mandates denial of defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

A day after the Supreme Court’s Gomez decision, the defendants reportedly attempted to deposit the $400 settlement money with the clerk of the court. However, Judge Feuerstein said that this payment would not be sufficient to moot the class action lawsuit’s claims. She found that the plaintiffs must be given a fair opportunity to show that the Zantrex class action lawsuit warrants certification.

The plaintiffs are represented by Scott A. Bursor, Neal J. Deckant, Yitzchak Kopel and Joseph Ignatius Marchese of Bursor & Fisher PA and Shane T. Rowley of Levi & Korsinsky LLP.

The Zantrex Weight Loss Product Class Action Lawsuit is Ashley Brady, et al. v. Basic Research LLC, et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-07169, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.