Aveeno Purchasers Win Class Cert. in Natural Baby Wash Lawsuit

A proposed Class has been certified in a lawsuit alleging Johnson & Johnson falsely marketed Aveeno natural baby wash. However, the judge declined to certify a proposed Class of Aveeno sunscreen users.

Lead plaintiff Heidi Langan alleged in her class action lawsuit that 16 types of Aveeno sunscreen products were marketed as made from “100% naturally sources ingredients,” when in fact they also included chemical ingredients.

In addition, the plaintiff wanted a Class of those who bought Aveeno baby wash products certified because the wash was advertised as a “natural” oat formula, but was allegedly only one percent natural.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer certified the plaintiff’s proposed Class of Aveeno baby wash purchasers, but refused to certify the Class of Aveeno sunscreen purchasers.

According to the court order, the Class of sunscreen purchasers could not be represented by the plaintiff because Langan said she would not purchase Aveeno sunscreen again. The judge rejected the plaintiff’s argument that not allowing her to represent the Class just because she refuses to purchase the product after learning the alleged truth would stymie consumer protection laws.

“I am not convinced by this reasoning,” noted the judge in his order. “Regardless of the salutary purpose of consumer protection statutes, they cannot alter the bedrock requirements for federal constitutional standing.”

Johnson & Johnson argued that the proposed Class of baby wash purchasers should not be certified because the plaintiff did not put much effort into monitoring the class action and happens to be friends with the lead attorney representing her. Judge Alker also rejected this argument, noting “[t]here is no requirement that the named plaintiff have the kind of detailed knowledge defendant suggests she must have — general knowledge is good enough,” in his order.

Judge Alker also rejected Johnson & Johnson’s argument that the Class shouldn’t be certified because the consumer protection laws in the 16 different states included in the proposed Class vary too widely.

The class action plaintiff argued that the litigation should be resolved in her favor because the statements on the Aveeno packaging were “patently false” and no further interpretation was necessary. The judge rejected that argument saying that a jury still needed to weigh in on whether the allegedly false statement was misleading.

Similarly, Judge Alker rejected Johnson & Johnson’s argument that the plaintiff had not established a factual basis for her claims, noting that this argument relied on the judge rejecting a report by an expert, which he had accepted.

Langan is represented by Mark P. Kindall of Izard Kindall & Raabe LLP and by Nicole Veno of the Law Office of Nicole A. Veno LLC.

The Aveeno Natural Sunscreen Class Action Lawsuit is Heidi Langan v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-01470, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

The Aveeno Natural Baby Wash Class Action is Heidi Langan v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-01471, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

UPDATE: On June 7, 2017, Johnson & Johnson and Langan told the court that they reached a settlement in principle for the Aveeno “natural” sunscreen lawsuit and are ironing out the details. They asked the court to push back the filing deadline for their joint trial brief, giving them 30 more days to finalize the Aveeno sunscreen class action settlement.

UPDATE 2: February 2019, the Aveeno natural baby wash class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

UPDATE 3: On Jan. 13, 2020, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks in the mail from the Aveeno natural baby wash class action settlement worth as much as $14.97. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!