Walmart Class Action Claims Retailer Tricked ‘Unsuspecting’ Warehouses Into Housing Unsellable Disinfectant Wipes

Walmart Unsellable Disinfex Disinfectant Wipes Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: Pixior Global Logistics and E-Comm Fulfillment 3PL filed a class action lawsuit against Walmart, ERlifescience and Joseph Bibi. 
• Why: Pixior and E-Comm claim Walmart, along with ERlifescience and its principal Joseph Bibi, tricked them into housing thousands of pallets of an unsellable disinfectant product. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

Walmart tricked “unsuspecting” warehouse companies into housing thousands of pallets of an unsellable disinfectant product during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new lawsuit seeking nearly $30 million alleges. 

Plaintiffs Pixior Global Logistics and E-Comm Fulfillment 3PL claim Walmart has “turned their backs” on the warehouses and failed to pay them after bringing them unapproved Disinfex brand disinfectant wipes to store.

The Disinfex disinfectant wipes, manufactured by co-defendant ERlifescience, had not been approved for sale by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), forcing Walmart to take it off its shelves, according to the lawsuit. 

Pixior and E-Comm claim that, in an effort to save time and money, Walmart devised a plan to dump the “worthless goods” on other warehouses to not tie up its own. 

“(Walmart) simply washed their hands of the matter, leaving plaintiffs with thousands of pallets of worthless goods, clogging their warehouses and no immediate recourse other than undertaking themselves the time-consuming and expensive process of destroying the merchandise,” the complaint states.

Pixior and E-Comm argue Walmart realized there would be a high demand for disinfectant products due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately chose to source new items from “unproven” suppliers, the class action lawsuit says.

“As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart is well-practiced at turning any situation to its advantage,” the lawsuit states. 

Pixior and E-Comm claim Walmart purchased “large quantities” of Disinfex disinfectant wipes from ER and the company’s principal, Joseph Bibi, near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. 

Walmart would ultimately issue a recall for the product in or around February 2021, according to the lawsuit, which claims the product could not be legally sold since it had not been registered with the EPA.

Walmart Devises Plan To Unload Disinfex Wipes On Warehouses

Pixior and E-Comm argue that, because of its chemical composition, the Disinfex disinfectant wipes could not be simply thrown away but had to instead be taken to either an approved landfill or potentially be incinerated.

“In short, Walmart had a huge problem. Walmart had massive amounts of Product on hand. Walmart had to get the Product off its shelves and out of its stores immediately,” the lawsuit states.

Instead of disposing of the product themselves, Pixior and E-Comm claim Walmart came up with a plan to have Bibi ship the unsellable item to independent warehouses — Pixior and E-Comm — which they falsely promised to pay in return for storing them, the lawsuit alleges.

Pixior and E-Comm claim they still to this day are in possession of the Disinfex disinfectant wipes, and that Bibi, ER and Walmart have all been unresponsive in either paying them or helping remove the product.

Pixior and E-Comm claim Walmart is guilty of quantum meruit and unfair business practices, and that ER and Babi are guilty of negligent misrepresentation, intentional misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment and breach of contract.

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting compensatory damages in excess of $29.6 million along with restitution and exemplary and punitive damages.

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against Walmart last month by Vans over claims the retail giant copied its shoe designs.

Have you purchased disinfectant products from Walmart during the pandemic? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Peter W. Ross and Tyler J. King of Ross LLP, and Fahim Farivar, Brian Ning and Catherine Y. Jung of Farivar Law Firm, APC. 

The Walmart Unsellable Disinfex Disinfectant Wipes Lawsuit is Pixior Global Logistics, LLC, et al. v. Walmart Inc., et al., Case No. 5:22-cv-00561, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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