P&G Escapes Old Spice Burning Deodorant Class Action Lawsuit

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An Ohio federal court judge has tossed claims in a putative class action lawsuit filed against Procter & Gamble alleging Old Spice deodorant causes serious rashes and burns.

Lead plaintiff Rodney Colley filed the Old Spice class action lawsuit in March, stating that he and thousands of consumers experienced chemical burns, skin peeling, and other skin irritations while using Old Spice deodorant products.

The Old Spice deodorant lawsuit further alleged Procter & Gamble actively tried to cover up the damage they knew their products were doing in favor of collecting large profits.

In support of this claim, Colley points to many blog posts and YouTube videos that can be found online featuring the irritation, burning and rashes that were commonly experienced by consumers.

Rather than blaming the product, Procter & Gamble argued the problems consumers have been experiencing could be caused by other factors, including sensitivity to alcohol, which is used in most deodorant products, or any one of the fragrances used in the products.

But Colley alleged enough people have been affected all across the country to warrant calling the hygiene products defective and certifying a nationwide Class of consumers.

However, U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black ruled Tuesday that plaintiffs failed to meet Class requirement standards and that the alleged Old Spice deodorant injuries are too individualized to constitute a Class.

“Here, plaintiffs do not contend that Old Spice deodorant products fail to provide deodorant benefits to any purchaser,” the judge said. “Instead, plaintiffs allege personal injury, which is not a classwide issue.”

The plaintiffs had asked the Court to certify a nationwide Class and 44 state subclasses of every person who purchased one of the 13 listed Old Spice deodorant products since 2012, asserting nationwide claims for breach of express warranty, unjust enrichment, and product liability among other claims.

Procter & Gamble countered, telling the court that there are too many issues to resolve that are specific to each individual Class Member and legal standards across 50 states.

Judge Black sided with P&G, noting that “the liability of individual class members will turn on the litany of specific factual inquiries, including whether and how class members were physically injured, how putative class members applied the product, the frequency of use, whether they use other products, individual medical issues and sensitivities, conditions such as previously broken or irritated skin, armpit shaving habits and other factors unique to each individual.”

The judge also ruled in favor of P&G’s arguments that plaintiffs’ Class claims should be stricken because they are overbroad since it includes a significant number of consumers who have not suffered any injury or harm when using Old Spice products.

“Plaintiffs’ proposed classes and subclasses are overbroad because they would include millions of consumers who suffered no injury and thus have no standing to bring claims or recover on them. Plaintiffs do not allege that all of these consumers suffered irritation or other injury from using Old Spice, nor do they allege that Old Spice failed to work properly for all members of the proposed classes,” Judge Black stated.

Still, Judge Black granted the plaintiffs leave to amend the class allegations and disputed claims within three weeks.

The plaintiffs are represented by Thomas J. Connick and Edward A. Proctor of Connick Law LLC.

The Old Spice Burning Deodorant Class Action Lawsuit is Rodney Colley v. Proctor & Gamble Co., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-00918, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.