Natrol Liquid Melatonin “100% Drug-Free” Claim Massachusetts Class Action

Natrol, LLC sells a product it calls Natrol Liquid Melatonin. It advertises this product as being “100% Drug Free.” But the complaint for this class action alleges that it is not in fact drug-free because it contains 10% ethyl alcohol. The “drug-free” representation was “especially injurious” to the plaintiff in this case, the complaint alleges, “as she is a recovering alcoholic and abstains from all alcohol, no matter the percentage.”

The class for this action is all persons who bought Natrol Liquid Melatonin products in Massachusetts that were labeled as being “100% Drug-Free.”

Natrol sells health products, such as vitamins, minerals, and supplements, to drugstores like Walgreens, CVS, and GNC.

According to the complaint the Natrol Liquid Melatonin bottles stated “100% Drug-Free” on both the front and back labels. The complaint shows an image of the bottle on page 4. The complaint claims, “There [is] no qualification on bottles of Natrol Liquid Melatonin to the claim that Natrol Liquid Melatonin is ‘100% Drug-Free,’ and there [is] no indication on the front of the bottles that Natrol Liquid Melatonin contains any alcohol.”

According to the complaint, Natrol markets the product as “100% Drug-Free” “in product packaging, [in] print advertisements, in television commercials, and on the Natrol website.”

The complaint alleges that the “drug-free” labeling is important to consumers, who “have shown a significant and increasing interest in ‘drug-free’ products, spawning entire sub-industries of ‘drug-free’ products in a range of consumer goods, including food, health care, and personal care items.” The complaint claims, “Consumers place a greater value on ‘drug-free’ products based on perceptions that ‘drug-free’ products are safer, healthier, more natural or otherwise of a higher quality compared to similar products that contain ingredients that are not drug-free.”

In fact, the complaint alleges, the importance of the claim to consumers is demonstrated by Natrol’s decision to label and market its melatonin as “drug-free.” “That is,” the complaint says, Natrol’s “selection of ‘100% Drug-Free’ to be one of the few descriptive phrases on the front label indicates [Natrol’s] understanding that such a descriptor is material to a typical, reasonable consumer.”

The complaint contends, “Ethyl alcohol is commonly referred to as simply ‘alcohol.’ And ‘alcohol’ is clearly a drug—one of the most commonly used and abused drugs across the globe. Ethyl alcohol is a psychoactive drug that is the active ingredient in drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.”

The complaint therefore alleges that the labeling and marketing of the Natrol Liquid Melatonin as “100% Drug-Free” is false and misleading.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Contains Substance It Claims Not to Contain, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels