A California federal judge dismissed a testosterone product false advertising lawsuit against Gencor Nutrients Inc. and sellers of its Testofen testosterone supplement, including General Nutrition Corp. (GNC). The Testofen lawsuit alleged that the companies used false and deceptive marketing to sell their testosterone supplements to vulnerable customers.

U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real tossed out the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) class action lawsuit against Gencor and the testosterone supplement retailers, saying that the allegations were insufficient and there wasn’t enough evidence.

Judge Real ruled in favor of the defendant because he found that the plaintiff’s claims were insufficient and did not exhibit enough evidence to support the charges. Additionally, Judge Real determined that the testosterone product lawsuit did not show any evidence that the companies had any intent to defraud customers, and had no malicious intent towards their target market.

Gencor is based in Orange County, California and is known for manufacturing different vitamin supplements. The supplements in question are oral pills called Testofen, which were advertised to increase muscle mass, strength, and libido function in men. Gencor is being accused of manipulating scientific data regarding the health benefits and risks of Testofen, and presenting the data in a false light to the public.

The alleged consumer deception revolves around two studies Gencor performed in the late 2000s and formed the conclusion that Testofen had shown increase testosterone production by significantly large amounts.  However, the plaintiffs’ legal team argued that the study was invalid because the studies contained four primary variables, and therefore, the results could not conclusively prove that the patients who took Testofen had experienced increased testosterone levels.

Furthermore, other studies conducted contradicted Gencor’s studies, stating that there are no links between these supplements and testosterone levels.

Despite the seriousness of the charges, Judge Real dismissed the testosterone products lawsuit with prejudice after finding that the plaintiffs failed to organize their case.

“Plaintiffs have failed to lay out the who, what, where and when in their complaint, so [the RICO] count fails,” Real said in Wednesday’s order.

Overview of the Testosterone Supplement Case

The testosterone products lawsuit was originally filed in May by various disgruntled customers who charged Gencor and other manufacturers of supplying retailers with oral supplements containing Testofen. The companies had reportedly touted false advertising claims that stated the supplements proved to biologically increase a customer’s testosterone levels.

The Gencor lawsuit also alleged that the supplement retailer and the other companies dominated the testosterone market by launching a steady stream of supplements, releasing new product almost on a scheduled basis. However, the testosterone product lawsuit alleges that each new supplement released was merely the original product with barely any difference from its new version. This would ensure that sales would continue and that customers would continue to anticipate their next release.

However, Judge Real disagreed with the charges made against the company, stating that the evidence gathered does not actually relate to the charges. Additionally, Judge Real said that while the studies of the defendant did not prove Testofen increased testosterone, but it also did not disprove it either.

“Taking [the report] to be true, it does not allege that Gencor’s clinical trial was not statistically significant,” he decided.

The judge stated that amending the testosterone product lawsuit would be futile because the factual evidence contradicted the plaintiffs’ racketeering claims. Essentially, none of the evidence provided actually provide deceptive or false advertising.

While this Gencor testosterone supplement lawsuit involved no personal injuries, legal and medical experts warn against freely using testosterone supplements because of the rising concern of its link to cardiac complications. There have been many testosterone product lawsuits filed against testosterone supplement companies and pharmaceutical companies, alleging their cardiac injuries were in direct result of using the product.

This Testosterone Product Lawsuit is Brian O’Toole, et al. v. Gencor Nutrients Inc., et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-03754, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

In general, AndroGel heart attack lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.

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