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Procter & Gamble Co. can’t dodge claims in a class action lawsuit alleging Tide Pods are defective because they are ineffective at cleaning clothes and actually cause stains.
Lead plaintiffs Lisa Guariglia, Micheline Byrne, and Michele Emanuele alleged in their class action lawsuit that Tide Pods malfunction in the wash resulting in blue and purple stains on light colored clothing.
The plaintiffs claimed that P&G failed to warn consumers about the potential for staining and also that the product is defective because it does not result in clean clothes.
P&G argued the Tide Pods class action lawsuit should be dismissed. Specifically, argued the company, the plaintiffs did not support their claims that the Tide Pods were defectively designed because they had not provided evidence of an alternative design or explained how they could be manufactured differently.
U.S. District Judge Arthur D. Spatt agreed and dismissed the design defect claims.
“Each of the named Plaintiffs allegedly found ‘unused portion[s] of the Tide Pods, when their clothes were stained,” noted the court order. “Furthermore, the amended complaint repeatedly references P&G’s claims that Tide Pods feature a best-in-class film that dissolves and works effectively. Reading the complaint as a whole, it is clear that the Plaintiffs claim that the stains were caused by the Tide Pods’ failure to dissolve, which plausibly alleges that the product posed a substantial likelihood of harm and that the defective design was a substantial factor in causing the Plaintiffs’ injuries.”
“However, the Plaintiffs have not alleged that a feasible alternative design exists,” pointed out the order. “Nor do they argue that any exception to this requirement applies to their claims. Therefore, the Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim for design defect, whether under a theory of negligence or strict liability.”
The judge did grant the plaintiffs leave to amend their complaint, however.
The court order also noted that the plaintiffs abandoned their manufacturing defect claims as well as their failure to warn claims. P&G argued that the plaintiffs did not respond to arguments for dismissal of the manufacturing defect claims. Judge Spatt agreed and additionally pointed out that the plaintiffs had never established how the Tide Pods they purchased were different.
“The plaintiffs failed to allege how the units they purchased were manufactured differently from other Tide Pods,” stated the order. “That is, they do not allege that the Tide Pods stained their clothes because of a mishap in construction, or because of some mistake.”
The judge refused to dismiss the other Tide Pod class action lawsuit claims, including breach of warranty, unjust enrichment, and for violations of various state consumer protection laws.
“P&G apparently acknowledged the defect in several instances, warning customers to not overload the washing machine, and not to use exceptionally cold water,” noted the court order. “These directions were allegedly not provided with the product.”
The plaintiffs are represented Mark Levine, Melissa Robin Emert and Patrice L. Bishop of Stull Stull & Brody.
The Tide Pods Class Action Lawsuit is Guariglia, et al. v. Procter & Gamble Co., et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-04307, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
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1,179 thoughts onTide Pods Class Action Lawsuit Won’t Wash Out for P&G
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Omg please add me I have to wash my clothes twice. And gain pods too!!! Smh
Add me please
May I suggest that when you post articles such as this, that you include that people cannot “join” the suit as a plaintiff. Every time I read one of these articles it is folllowed by a large number of comments saying “add me.
I washed a small twin comforter and the tide pod looked liked it melted into the comforter. I only wash in cold so not sure why it did but ruined my comforter.
add me please
sign me up my clothes were ruined do to this
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
Considering I emailed them about ruining our clothes and have the correspondence still. Im wondering how this will turn out!
Add me please.
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!
add me
The case is still moving through the courts and has not yet reached a settlement. Claim forms are usually not made available to consumers until after a court approved settlement is reached. We recommend you sign up for a free account at TopClassActions.com and follow the case. We will update the article with any major case developments or settlement news! Setting up a free account with Top Class Actions will allow you to receive instant updates on ANY article that you ‘Follow’ on our website. A link to creating an account may be found here: https://topclassactions.com/signup/. You can then ‘Follow’ the article above, and get notified immediately when we post updates!