Class Action Lawsuit Says Hand Sanitizer Can’t Kill 99.99% of Germs as Advertised

A California consumer is suing hand sanitizer maker Vi-Jon, saying the company’s claim that the product can kill 99.99% of germs is false.

Vi-Jon manufactures and labels hand sanitizers sold under store brand names, including CVS Health, Equate, Germ-X and Walgreen Co., the class action lawsuit states. Each of these products’ labels touts that the hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs on hands.

Plaintiff Anthony Moreno says he purchased each of the products in or around late 2019 and early 2020 for use by himself and by his family.

In his class action lawsuit, Moreno says he relied on the labels’ representation that the products would kill 99.99% of germs on hands. 

At the time Moreno made his purchases, he did not know, “and had no reason to know,” that the label’s claim was false or misleading.

He says he would not have purchased the products, or at least would have purchased them on different terms, had he known the representation to be false.

Moreno’s complaint maintains Vi-Jon’s representation is likely to be misleading to reasonable consumers.

While the company claims its hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs, the product is known not to kill certain germs. Those germs make up more than 0.01% of germs, the class action lawsuit says, and therefore cannot possibly kill the 99.99% claimed.

For example, the Vi-Jon class action lawsuit says, hand sanitizer is “generally ineffective” at killing norovirus, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says accounts for about 50% of all food-related illness outbreaks in the U.S.

According to the CDC, “norovirus causes 19 to 21 million cases of vomiting and diarrhea illness”  annually on average in the U.S., the complaint says.

“Norovirus alone renders the Representation that the Products kill 99.99% of germs false and misleading,” Moreno’s complaint says. “Yet, it is not the only microbe for which the Products are ineffective.”

The class action lawsuit lists other disease-causing organisms against which hand sanitizer is generally ineffective, such as poliovirus, human papillomavirus, influenza A and hepatitis A.

The sale of hand sanitizer skyrocketed earlier this year with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and subsequent pandemic.

“Never has it been more saliently demonstrated that consumers rely on hand sanitizers to ‘kill germs’ on their hands in order to protect themselves from infection,” Moreno’s complaint says. “And never has it been more important that manufacturers disseminate accurate and truthful information to the consuming public about the limitations of those products to ‘kill germs’ or, more precisely, denature certain microbes that can cause infection.”

Several other class action lawsuits have been filed over companies’ claims that their hand sanitizers kill various germs that lead to disease.

Vi-Jon faces two other such class actions related to its Germ-X product.

The first claims Germ-X hand sanitizer can’t protect against coronavirus, even though the plaintiffs say the manufacturer implies that it can.

In the second case, the lead plaintiff says Vi-Jon Inc. fooled consumers into believing Germ-X would help combat the flu virus.

And recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled more than 75 brands of hand sanitizer after concerns were raised that the products were contaminated with methanol, which is toxic and potentially lethal.

The FDA says it has seen an increase in the number of contaminated ethanol hand sanitizers during the pandemic.

The class action lawsuit accuses Vi-Jon of violating the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and of unfair and unlawful business practices, deceptive advertising practices, breach of express warranty and quasi-contract.

Moreno is asking the Court to certify a nationwide Class of all U.S. citizens who purchased the defendant’s products “within the relevant statute of limitations periods” and a California subclass to include all California residents who purchased the products within four years prior to the date the complaint was filed.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and asks the Court for a cease-and-desist order requiring Vi-Jon to stop selling its allegedly mislabeled products and an order stopping the company “from continuing to label, market, advertise, distribute, and sell the Products” in the alleged unlawful manner described; an order requiring Vi-Jon to take corrective action; attorneys’ fees and costs; compensatory, monetary and punitive  damages; restitution or disgorgement; pre- and post-judgment interest; and any further relief the Court deems appropriate.

Did you purchase a Vi-Jon hand sanitizer believing it would kill 99.99% of germs? Tell us about it in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Naomi B. Spector of Kamberlaw LLP.

The Vi-Jon Hand Sanitizer Class Action Lawsuit is Anthony Moreno, et al. v. Vi-Jon Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-01446-JM-BGS, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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