Fusion Brands Class Action Says CLEAN Reserve Packaging Is Deceptive

Fusion Brands America Inc. is facing a class action lawsuit alleging its CLEAN Reserve perfume products are packaged in a way that leads consumers to believe they will receive more of the product than they actually receive.

Plaintiff Michael Gonzales says he purchased CLEAN Reserve scent product in June 2017. According to the Fusion Brands class action lawsuit, the CLEAN Reserve product was packaged in a non-transparent container.

When Gonzales opened the package, he discovered that it had a false bottom and a false top, and that the actual volume of the product only a small fraction of the container’s exterior volume.

“The average consumer spends a mere 13 seconds making an in-store purchasing decision, or between 10 to 19 seconds for an online purchase,” the Fusion Brands class action lawsuit alleges, pointing to an article on Nielsen.com. “That decision is heavily dependent on a product’s packaging, and particularly the package dimensions.”

Gonzales says he would not have purchased the product if he had known the packaging included a false top and false bottom. According to the CLEAN Reserve class action lawsuit, the product packaging violates consumer protection and labeling laws.

Specifically, Gonzales says the packaging violates the California Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, which provides: “No container wherein commodities are packed shall have a false bottom, false sidewalls, false lid or covering, or be otherwise so constructed or filled, wholly or partially, as to facilitate the perpetration of deception or fraud.”

According to the CLEAN Reserve class action lawsuit, the false bottom and false top do not serve a functional purpose such as providing protection for the package contents or providing adequate space to present mandatory labeling information.

“Consumers believe that the CLEAN product packaging containers are substantially full because they cannot see the actual contents within the nontransparent container,” the CLEAN Reserve class action lawsuit alleges.

Gonzales says the product packaging was a material factor in his decision to purchase the CLEAN reserve product, and he believed he would be getting more of the product than was actually being sold by Fusion Brands.

“Plaintiff and the Class Members paid the full price of the CLEAN products marketed by Defendant and received less CLEAN product than they expected due to the false bottoms and false tops in the packaging of the CLEAN products,” Gonzales alleges in the Fusion Brands class action lawsuit.

Gonzales filed the Fusion Brands class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of California residents who purchased CLEAN Reserve products in containers with a false bottom, false sidewalls, and false lid or covering during the applicable statute of limitations period.

The CLEAN Reserve class action lawsuit asserts violations of California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Law, and False Advertising Law. Gonzales is seeking compensatory damages, actual damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs, pre-and post-judgment interest, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.

Gonzales is represented by Scott J. Ferrell of Pacific Trial Attorneys.

The Fusion Brands CLEAN Reserve Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Gonzales v. Fusion Brands America Inc., et al., Case No. 8:17-cv-01598, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.