In a remarkable development, a putative class action lawsuit against a renowned cosmetic company, L’Oreal U.S.A., Inc., was dismissed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit, which was initially filed in March 2022, alleged that L’Oreal violated a plethora of state consumer protection laws. The main contention was that the cosmetic giant failed to disclose that several of its waterproof mascara products contain PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of man-made chemicals.
According to Fox Rothschild LLP, the Court granted L’Oreal’s motion to dismiss the Complaint on September 30, 2023, setting a significant precedent. Interestingly, the grounds for dismissal were not the merits of the accusation; instead, it was determined that the Plaintiffs did not have standing to bring the claim. This legal judgement presumably drew attention to the procedural aspects of the lawsuit. Thus, the outcome was not determined by the presence — or lack thereof — of PFAS in L’Oreal’s products; rather, it hinged on the legal standing of the plaintiffs.
The dismissal of this lawsuit underscores a vital aspect of legal procedures, particularly within the realm of class-action lawsuits. It is a timely reminder for legal practitioners within corporations and law firms to ensure that they have robust standing before proceeding with such legal actions. Ignoring such fundamental legal principles could undermine potentially valid legal claims, as appears to have been the case in this instance. Thus, the importance of proper due diligence and procedural correctness cannot be overemphasized.