Germbloc Class Action Says Sanitizer May Not Kill Coronavirus

Germbloc Inc. and Willspeed Technology LLC are facing a class action lawsuit brought by a consumer who claims that the companies created a hand sanitizer that kills 99.99% of germs, but there is no scientific evidence that the claims can be proven.

Plaintiff Peter A. Lagorio says the defendants manufacture, advertise and market a topical hand sanitizer that is alcohol-free and goes by the brand name Germbloc.

Lagorio claims he purchased the hand sanitizer from the defendants’ website on March 16, 2020. He says he purchased an eight-ounce bottle for $13.99 plus a shipping cost of $4.95.

However, despite the product’s guarantee about the amount of germs it kills, Lagorio states that there are no reliable studies to support the representations.

He maintains the product does not kill a variety of germs or bacteria, including those that cause a variety of diseases such as influenza, Ebola, coronavirus and norovirus.

The plaintiff claims reasonable consumers are misled into believing proper use of the product will prevent diseases and kill 99.9% of all germs that cause illnesses in human beings.

The hand sanitizer class action lawsuit states the Food and Drug Administration recently issued a warning letter to Gojo Inc. regarding its Purell brand product, which is alcohol-based. The warning letter detailed Gojo’s false, deceptive and dangerous marketing of the Purell product line, which included the representation that the hand sanitizer “Kills more than 99.99% of most common germs …”

Lagorio’s Germbloc class action lawsuit goes on to say the FDA issued a news release on April 27, 2020, stating hand sanitizers are not proven to treat the coronavirus. In addition, the hand sanitizer class action lawsuit says non-alcohol-based sanitizers such as those made by the defendants are not nearly as effective at killing or reducing germs as are alcohol-based sanitizers.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers are much less effective than alcohol-based products, according to Lagorio.

“The Representation on the Product label does not conform to the statements required to be set forth pursuant to governing FDA tentative rules governing the Product,” the Germbloc class action lawsuit states. 

To be sure, the FDA has never established that an alcohol-free sanitizer is generally recognized as safe and effective for use as a topic antiseptic. The plaintiff notes that the product’s claims on the product label are not compliant with the statements required by the FDA and overstate the efficacy of the product.

“Each Representation is harmful, false, misleading and deceptive to consumers because it gives the misleading impression that using the Product will prevent the Diseases and all other human illnesses, including SARS Covid-2”, the Germbloc hand sanitizer class action lawsuit says.

The plaintiff also maintains each representation has allowed the defendants to unlawfully increase their sales of Germbloc and have given the defendants a competitive edge over many other hand sanitizer products in the marketplace.

Lagorio says the defendants’ marketing and sale of the hand sanitizers is designed to deceive, mislead and defraud consumers as well as all other purchasers of the product.

In addition, the defendants’ deceptive and misleading marketing and sale of the product has enabled them to sell more of the product at higher prices than they would have if they had not misled the public, the hand sanitizer class action lawsuit states.

Lagorio says if he had known the truth about the hand sanitizer marketed and sold by the defendants, he would not have purchased the product or would have paid less for it. 

Common legal and factual questions in the hand sanitizer class action lawsuit include: 1) whether the defendants had adequate substantiation for each representation before making it; 2) whether the representations are true, misleading or reasonably likely to deceive; 3) whether the defendants engaged in unfair or deceptive advertising with respect to the product;  4) whether the defendants have been unjustly enriched; and 5) whether the plaintiff and members of the Class are entitled to relief.

There are two prospective Classes in this class action lawsuit.

The first Class consists of “all persons who purchased the Product in the United States during the period from June 6, 2017 until notice is disseminated to the Class.”

The second Class includes: “all persons who purchased the Product in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts during the period from June 6, 2016 until notice is disseminated to the Class.”

Did you purchase hand sanitizer thinking it would kill 99.99% of germs? Leave a message in the comments section below.

The plaintiff is represented by Edward L. Manchur.

The Germbloc Hand Sanitizer Class Action Lawsuit is Peter A. Lagorio v. Germbloc Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-11074, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 

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