Johnson & Johnson Reaches Aveeno Sunscreen Class Action Settlement

Parties say they have reached a settlement in an Aveeno sunscreen false advertising class action lawsuit.

In a joint status report filed with the court by plaintiff Heidi Langan and defendant Johnson & Johnson, both parties say they have reached a settlement in principle and are currently ironing out the details. They are asking 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.

The status report does not mention any details about the terms of the settlement.

The Aveeno sunscreen class action lawsuit has been going on since 2013, when Langan first alleged that Aveeno Natural Protection Sunscreen products are not truly “natural” and are therefore falsely labeled.

Langan takes issue with 16 specific Aveeno sunscreen products labeled as containing “100% naturally-sourced ingredients.” These products allegedly contain synthetic chemicals that no reasonable consumer would consider “natural,” Langan argues, making the products’ labeling false and misleading.

The plaintiff claims she relied on that labeling when she purchased two tubes of Aveeno sunscreen in 2012 to use on her young son. She says she was willing to pay a higher price for these products because of the assurance that their ingredients were all natural, she claims.

But Langan later discovered these Aveeno sunscreen lotion products contain 23 ingredients that can’t be reasonably considered “natural,” according to her Aveeno class action lawsuit. She claims the Aveeno sunscreen stick products contain 11 such ingredients.

In March of this year, Langan was denied Class certification by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer. Langan had sought to represent a Class of persons in 16 different states and the District of Columbia who had purchased Aveeno sunscreen as far back as September 2010.

Judge Meyer said Langan does not have standing to represent a Class in seeking injunctive relief against Johnson & Johnson. He reasoned that since she now knows about the alleged mislabeling, she is not at any risk for being misled again.

At the same time, Judge Meyer granted Langan Class certification in a separate mislabeling class action lawsuit raising similar allegations about Aveeno baby wash, which Langan says is mislabeled as containing a “natural oat formula.”

Johnson & Johnson settled a third Aveeno class action lawsuit in May of this year. The company offered $6.75 million to resolve claims that its Aveeno Active Naturals line of products were mislabeled since the products contained supposedly non-natural ingredients like glycerine, sodium hydroxide and cetyl alcohol.

Under terms of that settlement, Johnson & Johnson will offer Class Members a refund of $2.50 for each qualifying purchase made during the Class period. Johnson & Johnson also agreed to stop using the label “Active Naturals” on 90 different personal care products within that product line.

In the current Aveeno sunscreen litigation, Langan is represented by attorney Mark P. Kindall of Izard Kindall & Raabe LLP.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

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.

UPDATE: 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!