Centrum Multivitamin False Ad Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed

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On March 31, a proposed Centrum multivitamin false ad class action lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. was dismissed by the presiding New York federal judge, who ruled the studies cited by the plaintiffs did not contain any information on the Centrum multivitamin products in question.

U.S. District Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf found that in their Centrum class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs cited studies focused on the impact of several Centrum health products on heart health, cancer, and cognitive function, health impacts that Pfizer never claimed their Centrum multivitamins could affect.

“Simply put, these studies concerning specific medical conditions in no way correlate to, let alone contradict as plaintiffs allege, the unrelated claims made by Centrum about its health benefits,” Judge Mauskopf states. “Such a stark disconnect between the scientific studies and the claims made about Centrum’s benefits is fatal to plaintiffs’ complaint.”

In 2014, the plaintiffs submitted an amended class action lawsuit which targeted a number of Pfizer health products that are part of the Centrum multivitamin line, including Centrum Silver and Centrum Adult. The Centrum multivitamin false ad class action lawsuit claims these Pfizer products advertised health claims they could affect immunity, metabolism, environmental stress and physical stress — claims that are allegedly not supported by scientific studies, such as those performed by Harvard Medical School. At the core of their Centrum class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the studies cited proved that the Centrum multivitamins provided no health benefits to consumers and could arguably be harmful.

However, the court and Judge Mauskopf found that this Centrum false ad class action lawsuit relied too much on an editorial piece titled, “Enough is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements,” which the complaint cited several times under the names of the various authors involved in the creation of the article.

In his order dismissing the Centrum multivitamin false ad class action lawsuit, Judge Mauskopf states:

“As plaintiffs themselves carefully note, in this article, ‘the science [is] synthesized,’ which suggests that the underlying studies have been subjected to second-hand analysis by the article’s authors in an effort to distill and harmonize their many different points. Further compounding the issue, the article is clearly captioned as an ‘Editorial,’ which suggests that its pronouncements are the opinions of its authors and not the conclusions drawn from the science itself.”

The judge also pointed out the study did not specifically address multivitamins like Centrum, rather the studies focused on food and packaged drinks. Additionally, Pfizer’s labels and advertisements only claimed Centrum products supported the immune system and did not state that the multivitamins improved it, meaning the company never allegedly made false ad claims that could be discredited by the studies cited in the Centrum class action lawsuit. Based on the “mismatches” and other issues, the court dismissed this false ad class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are represented by Michael R. Reese and Kim E. Richman of Reese Richman LLP, and Clayton Halunen, Melissa W. Wolchansky and Susan M. Coler of Halunen & Associates.

The Centrum Multivitamin False Ad Class Action Lawsuit is Kardovich v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 1:13-cv-07378, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.