Putative class action against hand wipes company reinstated

A federal appeals court Monday reinstated a putative class action against a hand wipes company, ruling the plaintiff had successfully alleged that the company’s claims could mislead the general public.

Plaintiff Lauren Souter said in her lawsuit that Shelton, Connecticut-based Edgewell Personal Care Co. and its associated business entities falsely claimed on the label of Wet Ones Hand Wipes that the products were “99.9% effective” against germs and that the ingredients were hypoallergenic, according to the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in Lauren Souter v. Edgewell Personal Care Co. et. al.

The U.S. District Court in Pasadena, California, dismissed the lawsuit, which was reinstated by a three-judge appeals court panel.

The front label says the product is 99.99% effective, yet its “single active ingredient,” benzalkonium chloride, “has allegedly proven to be only 46% to 60% effective in a real-world setting,” according to the complaint, the ruling said.

The label says also that the wipes are “hypoallergenic” and “gentle on the skin” yet the plaintiff alleges that several of its ingredients are “documented allergens and skin irritants,” the ruling said, in reinstating the lawsuit.

Plaintiff attorney Naomi Spector, of KamberLaw LLC in Healdsburg, California, said in a statement, “We are gratified that the Ninth Circuit stood behind the long-established consumer protection laws of the State of California.”

The company’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.