Wella class action over carcinogenic shampoo claims dismissed

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Update:

• A consumer in Illinois dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing cosmetic company Wella of selling carcinogenic dry shampoo products. 
• The consumer, in a notice to an Illinois federal judge last week, says she dismissed her claims without prejudice, leaving the door open for her to refile the claims in the future.
• The class action accused Wella of selling dry shampoo under its Sebastian brand that contained high levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene.
• The consumer claimed lab testing determined the Wella products contained higher levels of benzene than what is allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 
• The same consumer filed a similar — and still pending — class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over some of its shampoos.

Wella Sebastian, OGX dry shampoo class action overview: 

• Who: An Illinois woman hit Johnson & Johnson and Wella with twin class action lawsuits. 
• Why: The plaintiff alleges the companies sold dry shampoo products containing benzene, a known carcinogen.
• Where: The OGX and Wella Sebastian dry shampoo class action lawsuits were both filed in an Illinois federal court.

(Dec. 19, 2022)

An Illinois woman hit Johnson & Johnson and Wella with separate class action lawsuits alleging each of the companies sold dry shampoos containing benzene, a known carcinogen.

Plaintiff Marina Scott filed the class action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. on Dec. 15 in an Illinois federal court. She filed the class action complaint against Wella Operations US LLC the same day in the same court.

Both lawsuits allege the companies sold dry shampoo products containing benzene and failed to disclose the presence of it in their labeling in violation of state and federal consumer laws. The Johnson & Johnson lawsuit takes aim at the company’s OGX dry shampoo, and the Wella lawsuit points to Sebastian dry shampoo.

Sebastian, OGX dry shampoos contain ‘dangerously high’ levels of benzene, lawsuits allege

The Sebastian and OGX dry shampoos contain “dangerously high” levels of benzene, which have been linked to leukemia and other cancers, the lawsuits allege. 

Despite this, the carcinogen is not listed among either the inactive or active ingredients on the products’ labels.

“Plaintiff and other class members would not have purchased the products, or would have paid substantially less for the products, had defendant disclosed that the products contained or risked containing benzene, or otherwise not misrepresented that the products did not contain or were not at risk of containing benzene,” the Sebastian and OGX dry shampoo class actions state.

She’s looking to represent all Illinois residents who purchased the products, plus a subclass of consumers who bought the dry shampoos in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York or Washington.

Scott sued for fraud, unjust enrichment and violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act and various states’ consumer protection laws in both lawsuits.

Valisure, an independent lab testing company, discovered the high levels of benzene in the OGX and Sebastian products, the dry shampoo lawsuits state. The company’s test results have led to a range of class action lawsuits against companies that make products that contain benzene.

Earlier this month, two Illinois consumers claimed that Klorane dry shampoo contains benzene. Their lawsuit comes alongside growing concern that many dry shampoo aerosol products contain benzene.

Have you purchased any of the affected dry shampoos? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! 

The plaintiff is represented by Carl V. Malstrom of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP and Max S. Roberts, Sarah N. Westcot, Stephen A. Beck and Jonathan L. Wolloch of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The OGX and Wella Sebastian dry shampoo class action lawsuits are Marina Scott, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-07069; and Marina Scott, et al. v. Wella Operations US LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-07070, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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