Amazon Faces Class Action Lawsuit over Weight Loss Drugs

Amazon Inc. is fighting back against a weight loss drug class action lawsuit filed against the company in early December, saying that the putative consumer Class is appropriating governmental power by forcing the popular internet retailer to notify customers that the site has pulled the sibutramine-containing products targeted in this suit.

The weight loss drug class action lawsuit was filed against Amazon on Dec. 2, 2014, alleging the internet retailer knowingly allowed third party sellers to sell weight loss supplements containing sibutramine, a dangerous and illegal ingredient, on its website.

According to Amazon’s memorandum opposing plaintiff Dean Nicosia’s motion for injunction in this Amazon class action lawsuit, the company has claimed that Nicosia lacks standing and context to ask for preliminary injunction because Amazon banned sibutramine-containing supplements in 2010. Additionally, the internet retailer claims it has taken additional steps to halt the sale of sibutramine products on their website by installing automated tool to detect products containing the dangerous weight loss ingredient.

“Amazon’s process has been overwhelmingly successful in restricting the sale of products containing sibutramine once they have been identified by the FDA,” Amazon argues. “Indeed, Amazon utilized its automated tools to restrict the sale of Day 1 Diet just one day after the FDA issued its public notification related to that product.”

However, plaintiff Nicosia disagrees, claiming he was able to purchase “1 Day Diet” from two different third-party sellers on Amazon.com in January and April of 2013. Nicosia alleges Amazon has profited from its supposed failure to completely ensure sibutramine-based drugs are not sold on their website. Additionally, the Amazon class action lawsuit claims the online retailer failed to warn and reimburse customers of products pulled off Amazon’s online market for containing the prohibited substance, an alleged violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act and several similar Washington state laws.

According to Amazon, there is no feasible way for the company to detect products containing sibutramine without an FDA notice about the products, claiming that many weight loss supplement manufacturers hide the use of sibutramine in their products and do not even list the substance on the ingredients label. Additionally, the internet retailer maintains that the FDA does not require sellers like Amazon to take any other actions to avoid possible consumer harm once the product has been pulled from the site.

Back in 2010, the FDA published its first notice concerning sibutramine, announcing that the agency had made a deal with Abbott Laboratories to pull all Meridia diet drug products from the market because they contained sibutramine. Sibutramine has been shown to increase an individual’s risk of stroke and heart attack, making it a dangerous substance to include in drug products.

Plaintiff Nicosia is represented by Joseph S. Tusa of Tusa PC, Peter D. St. Phillip Jr. and Scott V. Papp of Lowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart PC, Timothy G. Blood and Paula M. Roach of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP and Gregory S. Duncan.

The Amazon Weight Loss Drug Class Action Lawsuit is Nicosia v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-04513, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

UPDATE: A federal judge dismissed the Amazon weight loss drug class action lawsuit on Feb. 4, 2014.