Metabolife Class Action Law Suit
Judge Denies Class-Action Certification On Ephedra Lawsuit
A United States District Court in Miami, Florida, issued
an order this week refusing to certify a class action filed
by six individuals against Metabolife International, Inc.
relating to its over-the-counter dietary supplement Metabolife
356.
In Perez v. Metabolife International, Inc., a lawsuit pending
in the United States District Court for the Southern District
of Florida, the plaintiffs sought authority to litigate their
claims against Metabolife International, Inc. in the form
of a nationwide class action or, alternatively, a class action
comprised of present and former users of Metabolife 356 that
reside in the State of Florida.
The plaintiffs claimed in their suit that the distributor
of Metabolife 356 should be required to provide medical monitoring
to every present and former user of Metabolife 356, as well
as to fund research and educational programs regarding the
alleged health risks and potential side effects of using Metabolife
356 and other ephedra-based products. It was asserted by the
plaintiffs in their suit that Metabolife International, Inc.
promoted its product, an ephedra and caffeine mixture that
is marketed primarily for weight loss and increasing energy,
by failing to adequately warn consumers about the risks and
dangers that could result from using the product.
In denying class certification, Judge Paul C. Huck found
that the plaintiffs were unable to meet the requirements for
class certification under federal law. Among other things,
Judge Huck ruled that the individuals that had filed the suit
were not adequate class representatives and that the case
did not present the type of common issues that class certification
requires.
Finally, the court noted that the claims asserted by the
plaintiffs regarding Metabolife 356 are unlike other medical
products liability cases that have been certified as class
actions, such as those relating to the banned diet drug Fen-Phen,
because while there was clear-cut scientific evidence that
the use of Fen-Phen would cause two specific cardiovascular
disorders, no such evidence exists with respect to Metabolife
356.
Metabolife International, Inc. is represented in the case
by Ernest P. Gieger, Jr., Andrew A. Braun, John E. W. Baay,
II and Lisa E. Ciolino of Gieger, Laborde & Laperouse,
L.L.C. located in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Ronald E. Cabaniss,
Larry D. Smith, and Jason P. Herman of Cabaniss, Smith, Toole
& Wiggins in Maitland, Florida.
Source
Metabolife International, Inc
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