TRESemme Naturals Class Action Settlement Deal Preliminarily Approved

A federal judge has preliminarily approved a $3.25 million settlement in a nationwide consumer class action over TRESemme brand shampoos and conditioners that were allegedly falsely advertising as being “natural” when the products actually contained synthetic ingredients.

Judge William B. Shubb of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order to preliminarily certify the deal Tuesday, approving the class action settlement between consumers and Unilever, the maker of TRESemme shampoos and conditioners, resolving a two-year legal battle.

The settlement Class includes any individual in the U.S. who purchased TRESemme Naturals products including Nourishing Moisture Shampoo, Radiant Volume Shampoo, Vibrantly Smooth Shampoo and their matching conditioners while they were still being sold.

In August 2013, plaintiffs Alba Morales and Lainie Cohen, later joined by Linda Clayman and Kenneth Drew brought this class action lawsuit against Unilever on behalf of a group of consumers who purchased TRESemme Naturals products.

The TRESemme Naturals line was marketed and advertised with a campaign centered around the representation that these shampoos and conditioners were “natural.”

According to the plaintiffs, these advertisements were misleading because the TRESemme products contained a long list of synthetic ingredients, including a chemical known to release formaldehyde, ammonium laureth sulfate, DMDM hydantoin and dipropylene glycol, that are not “natural.”

The plaintiffs claim that Unilever violated California’s Unfair Competition Laws and other state consumer protection laws by engaging in false and misleading advertising with the knowledge that consumers would willingly pay a premium for products they believe to be natural.

“Companies such as Unilever have capitalized on consumer appetite for ‘natural products,'” the April 2014 second amended complaint said. “Indeed, consumers are willing to pay, and have paid, a premium for products branded ‘natural’ over ordinary products that contain synthetic ingredients.”

Last December, Unilever discontinued TRESemme Naturals products in response to the litigation, according to court documents.

The settlement agreement is expected to provide Class Members with a maximum of $5 per bottle of TRESemme Naturals for up to $10 bottles per household without proof of purchase and a collective incentive award of up to $15,000 to the named plaintiffs.

While Judge Shubb noted that the settlement appears to be on the low-end of the expected recovery range and the deal contains a potentially unfair opt-in/opt-out requirement, the uncertainty of further litigation justifies the recovery.

For instance, Judge Shubb wrote, “Plaintiffs’ counsel contends that plaintiffs would have been required to prove both that the TRESemme Naturals labeling was likely to deceive or confuse reasonable persons and that those representations are material to reasonable persons.”

Additionally, the judge stated, “Further, establishing that all class members paid a price premium that was directly related to the product being ‘natural,’ rather than because of some other characteristic of the product, and quantifying this premium would have involved a battle of the experts.”

The final fairness hearing is set for Oct. 17, 2016.

Instructions on how to file a claim for the TRESemme Naturals class action settlement were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also “Follow” this case using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The TRESemme consumers are represented by Mark P. Kindall and Robert A. Izard of Izard Nobel LLP, Alan R. Plutzik and Michael S. Strimling of Bramson Plutzik Mahler & Birkhaeuser LLP, Joseph J. DePalma and Katrina Carroll of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLP and Nicole A. Veno of the Law Office of Nicole Veno.

The TRESemme Class Action Lawsuit is Alba Morales, et al. v. ConopCo Inc, Case No. 2:13-cv-02213, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

UPDATE: On Feb. 6, 2017, Top Class Actions viewers who submitted claims for the TRESemmé class action settlement starting receiving checks worth as much as $7.97!