Duane Morris Class Action Review - 2023 - Report - Page 290
The court undertook an analysis of the appropriateness of the abatement remedies
offered by the plaintiff’s experts, and found that certain of the programs, such as grief
counseling for families that lost loved ones due to the crisis was too attenuated from the
harm caused. Id. at *112. The court also noted that the defendants failed to provide a
reasonable abatement plan, and conducted a line by line analysis of the plans to reach
a final determination. Id. at *114. In so doing, the court adopted in large part the
plaintiff’s plan, and allocated one-third of the costs of the abatement plan to the
pharmacy defendants. Id. at *127.
D.
Emerging Trends In Cosmetics Litigation
An emerging trend in both class actions and MDLs involves cosmetics, and specifically,
against manufacturers of hair straightening and relaxing products. The National Institute
of Health recently published an article linking chemical hair straightening products to
uterine cancer. The study involved an 11-year observation of 33,497 females aged 3574, which showed an increased risk of uterine cancer of almost 4% for frequent users of
hair straightening and relaxants.
Soon after publication, a lawsuit was filed in federal court in Illinois alleging that
L’Oreal’s hair straightening products caused the plaintiff’s uterine cancer. The lawsuit
cites additional studies allegedly linking hair straightening and relaxing products to
cancer, including uterine cancer. The lawsuit also cited the NIH study that indicated that
women of color are more at risk because this demographic uses the products more than
others. The lawsuit alleges that L’Oreal has known, since at least 2015, of a positive
association between Di-2-ethylhexylphthalate and an increased risk of uterine cancer.
That case is one to watch in 2023 in this context.
Another case was filed in the federal court in Ohio with similar allegations entitled
Brownlee, et al. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., et al., Case No. 22-CV-00336 (S.D. Ohio). This
complaint provides the history of straightening products, and cites scientific literature
allegedly linking the chemicals in the products to cancers.
The plaintiffs assert six causes of action, including failure to warn and failure to conform
under the Ohio products liability act, breaches of express warranty and warranty of
merchantability, fraudulent misrepresentation, and loss of consortium.
III.
Top Product Liability And Mass Tort Class Action Settlements In
2022
The opioid settlements dominated the top ten list of the product liability and mass tort
settlements in 2022. They totaled $49.62 billion.
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Duane Morris Class Action Review – 2023
