Johnson & Johnson Settles Aveeno Active Naturals Class Action Lawsuit

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. has reportedly agreed to pay $6.75 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it deceptively marketed its Aveeno Active Naturals line.

Under the terms of the proposed Aveeno class action settlement, J&J will also remove the “Active Naturals” label from the products to address complaints from consumers that the products contained unnatural, synthetic ingredients such as glycerine, sodium hydroxide and cetyl alcohol.

The Aveeno class action lawsuit, filed in 2013, alleged Johnson & Johnson charged a premium for the so-called “natural” products over competing personal care products that did not include the “natural” claim. The plaintiffs claim they would not have paid as much for the Aveeno products if they had known the Aveeno Active Naturals products contained synthetic ingredients.

J&J denies the allegations and vigorously fought against the litigation, but its attempts at dismissing the Aveeno class action lawsuit were unsuccessful. The company subsequently agreed to settle the Aveeno class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.

In October, a New York federal judge granted certification to a Class of California, Florida and New York consumers who purchased certain Aveeno Active Naturals products.

The Aveeno Active Naturals products at issue in the Aveeno class action lawsuit include 90 different products, such as creams, lotions, cleaners, body wash, shampoo and conditioners.

Last week, the plaintiffs asked U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Roman to preliminarily approve the proposed Aveeno Active Naturals class action settlement, which would provide a cash payment to eligible Class Members.

“Plaintiffs submit that the Court has good cause to grant preliminary approval of this Settlement, which is the product of arm’s-length negotiations by experienced counsel aided by an independent mediator,” the motion for preliminary approval of the Aveeno class action settlement states. “The resulting Settlement is a fair, reasonable, and adequate resolution of all claims.”

Class Members of the proposed Aveeno Active Naturals settlement include consumers who purchased the covered products within the United States and its territories.

According to the Aveeno class action settlement documents, J&J has agreed to pay $2.50 for each purchase of a covered product made during the relevant Class Period. Class Members without proof of purchase may claim up to 20 products. There is no maximum number of covered products that may be claimed by Class Members who provide proof of purchase. Payments may be increased or reduced on a pro rata basis depending on the total number of claims filed.

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 green “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiffs are represented by Todd S. Gerber, D. Greg Blankinship, Jeremiah Frei-Pearson and Antonio B. Roman of Finkelstein Blankinship Frei-Pearson & Garber LLP, and Kim E. Richman of the Richman Law Group.

The Aveeno Active Naturals Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Goldemberg, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc., Case No. 7:13-cv-03073, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On Dec. 4, 2018, Top Class Action readers started to receive settlement checks worth as much as $168 from an Aveeno Naturals class action settlement.