Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
David Williams v. Reckitt Benckiser, LLC11th Circuit Court of Appeals4/12/23, Judge MarcusTopics: Class Action; Products Liability
This was a products liability class action against the manufacturers of “Neuriva,” a purported brain performance supplement. The class consisted of anyone who purchased Neuriva. The class alleged false and misleading statements that gave the impression that the product had been clinically tested and proven, which violated Florida, California, and New York consumer protection laws.
The parties agreed to an $8 million settlement and injunctive relief. The validity of the settlement was not in question. Judge Marcus wrote that the “appeal comes to us because one unnamed Class member, and attorney and frequent class-action objector, Theodore Frank, objected in district court and subsequently appealed the district court’s approval order,” arguing that the settlement was structured to maximize attorney’s fees, give the class members almost nothing, and minimize the payout by the manufacturers.
Setting aside the merits of Frank’s arguments, the panel concluded that the named plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue claims of injunctive relief because none of them stand to suffer “actual or imminent,” not “conjectural or hypothetical,” injury in the future. Instead, all of them indicated that they would never purchase Neuriva again. The money is fine, but injunctive relief was not. Thus, the settlement was vacated and remanded.
https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202211232.pdfTerry P. Roberts Terry@YourChampions.com Director of Appellate Practice Fischer Redavid PLLCPDF Version
