Rite Aid, Wal-Mart Must Face Glucosamine Class Action Lawsuit

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A California federal judge last week refused to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit accusing Rite Aid Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of misleading consumers about the effectiveness of glucosamine-chondroitin joint health supplements sold under the brand name “Cosamin.” Supplement manufacturer Nutramax Laboratories Inc.is also named as a defendant.

The retailers sought to dismiss the claims plaintiff Robert Dorfman asserted under California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL) and Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA). However, U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes found that Dorfman had presented sufficient evidence to suggest Rite Aid, Wal-Mart and Nutramax overstated the ability of Cosamin glucosamine-chondroitin supplements to protect damaged cartilage in people with arthritis.

In his class action lawsuit, Dorfman says he relied on representations about the alleged joint health benefits of Cosamin DS and purchased the product from both Rite Aid and Wal-Mart. He paid about $35 for the product at Rite-Aid and about $25 for the product at Wal-Mart. He hoped that the products would improve his joint soreness. He claims that he never would have purchased the products if he had known the products would not deliver the promised results.

Dorfman’s class action lawsuit cites more than 20 studies indicating that glucosamine hydrochloride and chondroitin cannot regenerate cartilage that has worn away or broken down, contrary to the defendants’ promises.

“These factual allegations do not merely suggest that there is a lack of evidence to substantiate defendants’ representations,” Judge Hayes said. “Rather, these factual allegations suggest that evidence exists to refute the truth of defendants’ representations.”

According to the Cosamin class action lawsuit, the Nutramax website cites several studies that indicate arthritis relief provided by Cosamin use. However, Dorfman claims, the studies are “fundamentally flawed, not scientifically valid and/or possess obvious, unmitigated bias – i.e., the study itself was sponsored by Nutramax.”

Judge Hayes rejected the defendants’ efforts to limit Dorfman’s claims to only the products he purchased, finding that Dorfman was qualified to represent a proposed class of consumers who purchased products with the same active ingredient because the products are sufficiently similar.

Wal-Mart and Rite Aid also sought to dismiss the glucosamine class action lawsuit because they merely stocked and sold the supplements. Therefore, they were not obligated to “conduct independent research and analysis to verify every statement that Nutramax and other manufacturers make.”

Judge Hayes disagreed with this argument, finding that the companies actively promoted the products and repeated the allegedly deceptive claims. Essentially, the companies “adopted the representations as their own” and could be subjected to liability under the UCL and CLRA.

Judge Hayes dismissed the breach of express warranty claims because Dorfman acknowledged he failed to provide the required notice to the defendants before filing the class action lawsuit. However, he did not dismiss the breach of warranty claims for Nutramax because product manufacturers are not entitled to such notice.

Judge Hayes also dismissed Dorfman’s claim for injunctive relief because he is unlikely to be harmed by allegedly false representations about Cosamin in the future.

“The complaint contains no allegations suggesting that plaintiff would consider purchasing another Cosamin product manufactured by Nutramax,” Judge Hayes said. “Accordingly, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to adequately allege that he faces a real and immediate threat of repeated injury.”

Dorfman is represented by Timothy Gordon Blood of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP and Todd D. Carpenter of Carpenter Law Group.

The Cosamin Glucosamine Class Action Lawsuit is Dorfman v. Nutramax Laboratories Inc., et al., Case No. 3:13-cv-00873, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.