Judge Trims Align Probiotic Class Action Lawsuit

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A federal judge last week trimmed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging Procter & Gamble falsely advertised the digestive health benefits of its Align probiotic supplements.

Consumers sued Procter & Gamble in 2011 alleging it pushed the over-the-counter drug for “digestive care” despite not having any clinical proof that it’s probiotic ingredients work.

“Procter & Gamble claims in its advertising, including the packaging for Align, that these health benefits result because ‘Only Align Contains Bifantis®, a Unique, Patented Probiotic,’ that will ‘restore your natural balance and bring peace to your digestive system.’ Procter & Gamble has no support for these claims, even though it states that it does, going so far as to claim it has clinical proof. Procter & Gamble’s representations are false, misleading and reasonably likely to deceive the public,” the Align probiotic class action lawsuit states.

“In truth, the ingredient matrix found in Align has never been substantiated, clinically or otherwise, and Procter & Gamble has no legitimate basis to make these claims,” according to the class action lawsuit.

The Align class action lawsuit is seeking to represent five separate classes for residents of California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire and North Carolina who relied on the allegedly false ads in purchasing Align probiotic supplements.

P&G moved to dismiss some of the claims for the California, Florida and New Hampshire classes, including for injunctive relief, violations of the California Unfair Competition Law and Florida statutory violations. The motion was not contested by the plaintiffs, so U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black granted P&G’s request.

Judge Black also dismissed Florida false advertising claims, which the plaintiffs did contest, ruling that they did not meet the standard for bringing these claims.

The judge also dismissed claims under the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act.

The Align Probiotic Class Action Lawsuit case is Dino Rikos et al. v. The Proctor & Gamble Co., Case No. 11-cv-00226, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

UPDATE: On June 21, 2016, a class action lawsuit regarding the advertising of Procter & Gamble’s Align probiotic supplement has been certified and a trial date has been set for Oct. 16, 2017.

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 29, 2017, Procter & Gamble reportedly agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing it of falsely advertising its Align probiotic supplement as being beneficial for digestive health without any clinical proof to support its claims.

UPDATE 3: On Jan. 15, 2018, the Align probiotic clinically proven class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 4: On Jan. 22, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail worth as much as $49.26 from the Align class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!