HRA Pharma America, Inc. makes a product called Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30. The complaint for this class action alleges that this designation and the representations on the packaging lead consumers to believe that this is the regular Mederma scar cream, with its regular active ingredient, plus the active ingredients in sunscreen. But the complaint alleges that the product does not contain allantoin, the active ingredient of the regular scar cream.
The New York Class for this action is all residents of New York who bought the product for personal, family, or household consumption and not for resale within the applicable statute of limitation period.
Pages 5 and 6 of the complaint show the packaging for two forms of the product, along with the representations on the labels. Page 5 shows the box for a small tube of the product showing the words “Mederma Scar Cream,” a plus sign, and the term “SPF 30.” Also on the front of the box are the words “Reduces the Appearance of Old & New Scars.”
Page 6 shows a somewhat larger box. The complaint alleges that, since the plaintiff in this case bought the product, “Mederma has changed the packaging, but it remains misleading and deceptive to consumers…” The changed box is still labeled as “Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30,” and also says, “Clinically shown to visibly reduce the appearance of scars while protecting from sun damage[.]”
The complaint alleges that “the designs, colors, font, and layout of the Product’s front label are nearly identical to those used on the front label of Mederma’s regular scar cream product.”
However, the complaint alleges that the products are not similar at all: “Unbeknownst to consumers, however, the product is not Mederma regular scar cream plus sunscreen. This is because the Product does not contain the active ingredient in Mederma’s regular scar cream—allantoin.” According to the complaint, the product contains only avobenzone, octocrylene, and oxybenzone, which the complaint calls “the active ingredients of any other sunscreen.”
Both boxes contain only 0.7 ounces of the cream, which the complaint calls a “paltry” amount for a sunscreen, for which consumers pay a premium price compared to other sunscreens.
The complaint claims that the product “is falsely and deceptively advertised.” It says, “The reasonable belief that the Product contains the regular scar treatment product’s active ingredient was a significant factor as to why Plaintiff and other class members decided to purchase the Product. Indeed, the fact that the Product lacks this active ingredient (e.g., allantoin) is material to consumers…”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30 Contains No Active Scar Ingredient Complaint
October 1, 2022
HRA Pharma America, Inc. makes a product called Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30. The complaint for this class action alleges that this designation and the representations on the packaging lead consumers to believe that this is the regular Mederma scar cream, with its regular active ingredient, plus the active ingredients in sunscreen. But the complaint alleges that the product does not contain allantoin, the active ingredient of the regular scar cream.
Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30 Contains No Active Scar Ingredient ComplaintCase Event History
Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30 Contains No Active Scar Ingredient Complaint
October 1, 2022
HRA Pharma America, Inc. makes a product called Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30. The complaint for this class action alleges that this designation and the representations on the packaging lead consumers to believe that this is the regular Mederma scar cream, with its regular active ingredient, plus the active ingredients in sunscreen. But the complaint alleges that the product does not contain allantoin, the active ingredient of the regular scar cream.
Mederma Scar Cream + SPF 30 Contains No Active Scar Ingredient Complaint