10.02.12
• Three plaintiffs have argued in their New Jersey federal complaint that Coppertone’s sunscreen products fail to protect against the cancer causing longer rays of ultraviolet-A radiation despite its “full defense” claim. Calling the products “sunblock” and claiming they were waterproof, sweatproof, and would provide all-day protection was also misleading because the protection diminished over time and after exposure to water and sweat, the plaintiffs alleged.
According to the complaint, “[T]he level or degree of UVA protection, to the extent provided, was significantly less than the level of protection provided against the burning effect of UVB rays and [no] protection was being provided against the longer UVA rays. . . [T]hese products did not block all or anywhere close to all of the sun’s harmful rays.”
All three plaintiffs relied upon the sunscreen’s labeling and advertising, they alleged, seeking trebled damages, restitution, and injunctive relief from Merck, which they said reaped “enormous profits” from Coppertone products.