Johnson’s Bedtime Lotion & Bath Class Action Lawsuit Continues

A New Jersey federal judge yesterday refused to dismiss class action lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson’s line of Bedtime Bath and Lotion were deceptively advertised, finding that the majority of claims could continue.

Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit say Johnson & Johnson originally marketed the Bedtime Bath Products as being able to help infants sleep better at night if the products are used in a certain order. According to Judge Freda L. Wolfson’s decision to partially deny J&J’s motion to dismiss, “plaintiffs [assert] that there are no ‘scientifically significant or reliable studies’ that substantiate J&J’s claim that the use of Products or the 3-step routine help babies sleep better.”

Plaintiffs Caryn Lieberson and Pamela Dubin allege in the class action lawsuit that a combination of television advertising and product labeling led them to try Johnson’s Bedtime Bath and Johnson’s Bedtime Lotion with little to no change in their children’s sleep habits. However, Judge Wolfson found that Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to dismiss the case based on a lack of specificity of what channels they were watching was an “onerous” argument.

She decided that because the women were able to identify what the marketing messages were and the time frame for when they occurred, the class action lawsuit had been sufficiently pled. She noted that Lieberson, for example, “alleges the necessary elements with the particularity demanded by the CFA. These allegations sufficiently allege the hallmark — the ‘who, what, when, where and how’ — of a fraud claim.”

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Judge Wolfson did, however, dismiss a third plaintiff from the class action lawsuit after finding she did not use the bath products as directed. Plaintiff Lisa Triantfillou alleged that the J&J products did not help her child but only used one of the products, the Bedtime Bath Lotion, when a combination of the lotion and bath soap was recommended. Triantfillou will be able to amend her complaint if she can say that she too bought and used both products based on television advertising or from other sources.

The plaintiffs are represented by Natalie Finkelman Bennett and James C. Shah of Shepherd Finkelman Miller & Shah LLP.

The Johnson’s Bedtime Bath & Lotion Class Action Lawsuit is Caryn  Lieberson, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Cos. Inc., Case No. 13-cv-00610, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey.

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