CeraVe, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc. that offers skincare products as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these skincare products—contrary to their labeling—do in fact contain oils.
A class and a subclass have been defined for this action.
- The class is all persons in the US who bought the Products between December 7, 2016 and the date of the certification of the class in this case.
- The subclass is all persons in Illinois who bought the products between December 7, 2010 and the date of certification of the class in this case.
Page three of the complaint lists the products at issue and the kinds of oils they contain:
- CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion—caprylic/capric triglyceride, dimethicone
- CeraVe Ultra-Light Moisturizing Lotion SPF—octocrylene
- CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion—caprylic/capric triglyceride, dimethicone
- CeraVe AM Facial Moisturizing Lotion SPF 30—octocrylene, dimethicone
According to the complaint, all of these products were advertised as being oil-free.
The complaint says, “Oil is a term that describes a material that is both hydrophobic and lipophilic.” They “can be generally characterized by the same physical properties commonly observed by laypersons including being less dense than water, being more viscous than water, and feeling slick or slippery to the touch.”
In the complaint are chemical structural diagrams of the oils alleged to be in the products: caprylic triglyceride (a triglyceride), dimethicone (a polysiloxane), and octocrylene (an ester).
Plaintiff Jake Gruber bought one of the products, the Daily Moisturizing Lotion, on or around October 25, 2020. He bought the product, the complaint says, because he believed the claim on the package that it was oil-free. The complaint says, “[Gruber] would not have been able to understand that the Products contained oils without an advanced understanding of chemistry.”
The complaint alleges that CeraVe “knew or should have known that the Products’ express labeling stating ‘Oil-Free’ was false, deceptive, and misleading, and that [consumers] would not be able to tell the Products[] contained oils unless [the companies] told them.”
Furthermore, the complaint claims, the companies who are the defendants in this case “employ professional chemists to create the chemical formulas of [their] products. Therefore [the companies] through their employees knew or should have known that the Products contained oils and that by labeling the Products as oil-free they were deceiving consumers.”
The counts include common law fraud, breach of express warranties, unjust enrichment, and violation of Illinois consumer protection laws.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
CeraVe “Oil-Free” Moisturizing Lotions Contain Oil Complaint
December 7, 2020
CeraVe, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc. that offers skincare products as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these skincare products—contrary to their labeling—do in fact contain oils.
CeraVe “Oil-Free” Moisturizing Lotions Contain Oil ComplaintCase Event History
CeraVe “Oil-Free” Moisturizing Lotions Contain Oil Complaint
December 7, 2020
CeraVe, LLC is a subsidiary of L’Oreal USA Products, Inc. that offers skincare products as being “oil-free.” However, the complaint for this class action alleges that certain of these skincare products—contrary to their labeling—do in fact contain oils.
CeraVe “Oil-Free” Moisturizing Lotions Contain Oil Complaint