Judge: RockHard Weekend False Ad Class Action Lawsuit Stands Up

A California man has sufficiently pleaded allegations of fraud and other claims in a RockHard Weekend false advertising class action lawsuit, although a judge tossed a portion relating to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Lead plaintiff Kenny Dorsey alleges that he bought the product RockHard Weekend at least once over the course of a two-month period because of labeling claims that it would improve sexual performance and says the representations came up short. RockHard Laboratories attacked the class action lawsuit on multiple fronts.

First, it argued that the phrasing of “Doctor Tested,” “Doctor Approved,” “Fast & Effective,” and provides “Rockhard Results” were puffery and would not be relied on by a customer. U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson disagreed with this, noting that on their own, they might fall under that category, but as a whole, “by taking the product, a consumer will have enhanced sexual performance, that the effect will happen quickly, and that the consumer can expect to have a ‘Rockhard’ erection,” according to the order.

And while the formulation may have changed, the class action attorneys representing Dorsey have sufficiently pleaded facts that indicate that the same ingredients are used and more importantly that the claims purported to be false advertising did not change on the packaging.

Judge Pregerson did note that the burden will rest on the man to demonstrate that there is no medical evidence supporting improved sexual performance from the supplement’s ingredients. If he can do this, and also demonstrate that some ingredients are synthetic in contraction of the “All Natural” claims, it does not matter if they were listed on the bottle because it “does not absolve Defendants of all potential liability for making false statements that contradict the ingredient list.”

However, he looked at the labeling and did note that nowhere on the package was there mention of an aphrodisiac but there was one terming it a supplement. As a result, Dorsey’s allegations of violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act could not stand because no statements have to be evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as long as a statement noting that the FDA does not evaluate supplements prior to their launch is included.

Dorsey is represented by class action attorneys Ronald A. Marron, Skye Resendes and Alexis M. Wood of the Law Offices of Ronald A. Marron APLC.

The RockHard Weekend False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Kenny Dorsey v. Rockhard Laboratories LLC, et al., Case No. 13-cv-07557, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.