Judge Asked to Certify Jason, Avalon Organics Class Action

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Hain Celestial customers are asking a California federal judge to certify two classes in a class action lawsuit against the cosmetics company for allegedly violating the California Organic Products Act by exaggerating the organic claims on the products’ labels.

Plaintiffs Rosiminah Brown and Eric Lohela made their case for class certification before U.S. District Judge Laurel Beeler Thursday. They want those who purchased Jason products that include the claim “pure, natural and organic” to make up one class, and the other class to consist of those who purchased Avalon Organic products.

Brown and Lohela’s attorney, Mark Todzo, argued that “Avalon had a 12 percent price premium over other products, and was the only one on the market with ‘organic’ in the name.”

According to the California Organic Products Act (COPA), in order to use the word “organic” on nonfood products, the ingredients must be 70 percent organic by weight, not including water, Todzo explained further, while the Jason and Avalon Organics cosmetics did not meet this requirement.

Judge Beeler told the attorneys representing both the plaintiffs and defendant that they need to pay special attention to the intricacies that could be a challenge for class certification.

Hain Celestial’s attorney, William Stern, said that one of the problems for the proposed class periods, which for Avalon Organics products starts in May 2007 to the present, and for Jason products starts in May 2007 and ends in June 2011, is that both the labels and the products’ formulas changed during that time.

In addition, Stern argued that it would also be hard to figure out who purchased which products, since some of these products sat next to each other on the shelf during the time that label and formula changes were being made.

“They say the purchase of a product equals exposure to the offending statement, and to liability,” Stern said. “That’s our legal difference with them — the purchase of some of these labels doesn’t equal exposure.”

In response, Todzo said that since the Jason labels underwent a change in February 2011 and the phrase “pure, natural and organic” was removed from the label, that the class period for Jason products could end in January of that year.

Judge Beeler said that that proposal would make it easier to certify a class of Jason purchasers, but didn’t say otherwise whether or not she will ultimately certify the classes.

The Avalon Organics and Jason class action lawsuit against Hain Celestial was filed in May 2011 alleging that their products which use the words “pure” and “organic” on its labels contain “significant amounts of non-organic ingredients.”

In December 2012, Hain tried to have the organic labeling class action lawsuit dismissed, saying that the word “organic” isn’t a reference to a specific product or ingredient and that this is allowed according to federal regulations.

In addition, Hain said that since the California Department of Public Health has decided not to pursue an investigation or legal action against the company, that the state agency’s decision should preempt the class action lawsuit.

However, Judge Beeler denied Hain’s motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit in February 2014 saying that the California Department of Public Health’s decision is no reason that this deceptive marketing class action lawsuit can’t continue.

Brown and Lohela filed their motion to certify the two classes in July.

Hain Celestial is also the maker of Celestial Seasonings, Arrowhead Mills, Spectrum Naturals, WestSoy and Rice Dream.

The plaintiffs are represented by Mark N. Todzo and others of Lexington Law Group LLP.

Hain is represented by William L. Stern and others of Morrison & Foerster LLP.

The Jason and Avalon Organics Class Action Lawsuit is Brown et al. v. Hain Celestial Group Inc., Case No. 3:11-cv-03082, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: A website for the Hain Celestial class action lawsuit has been established, and a trial date has been set for Aug. 6, 2015. Click here or visit www.HainOrganicCosmeticsLawsuit.com for more information.

UPDATE 2: A settlement has been reached in the JASON/Avalon Organics class action lawsuit, according to court documents filed on Sept. 22, 2015.
UPDATE 3: On Oct. 15, 2016, Top Class Actions viewers who submitted timely and valid claims for the Hain Celestial JASON, Avalon Organics class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $93! Congratulations to all our readers who filed a claim and got PAID!