Paparazzi, LLC is a multi-level marketing business which recruits salespeople to sell inexpensive jewelry, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other accessories. The company prominently and frequently advertised that its products were lead- and nickel-free, but the complaint for this class action alleges they contained significant quantities of those substances.
The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons who bought any Paparazzi products, during the fullest period allowed by law, for personal use and not for resale. A Michigan Subclass has been defined for those in the above class who bought the products in Michigan.
Paparazzi provides inexpensive jewelry for its salespeople, called “consultants,” to sell on commission. The complaint alleges, “Paparazzi is the sole source of information concerning the Products, including the Products’ qualities and composition.” The marketing information for the products “is provided entirely through its website, [through] its social media presence, and through the information Paparazzi provides to its consultants.”
Until recently, the complaint alleges, that information included numerous statements that Paparazzi jewelry is lead- and nickel-free. Page 2 of the complaint shows reproductions of nine ads including statements like “Lead & Nickel Free” and “All Jewelry is Lead/Nickel Free!” The complaint alleges that Paparazzi consultants repeated these claims to prospective customers and, in fact, that they were required to repeat them.
“In or about December 2021,” the complaint alleges, “former Paparazzi consultants grew to be suspicious of Paparazzi’s claims that its products were lead and nickel free. These consultants believed that Paparazzi’s jewelry [might] contain lead and nickel despite Paparazzi’s consistent representations to the contrary.”
The consultants hired a third-party lab, Waypoint Analytical, the complaint says, to test ten pieces of jewelry. The complaint alleges that the lab testing “confirmed that each piece of Paparazzi jewelry that was tested contained lead and nickel, along with other materials known to be hazardous, including arsenic and cadmium.”
In addition, the complaint alleges that the plaintiff in this case also had testing done that showed that all the tested pieces of Paparazzi jewelry contained significant amounts of nickel and/or lead.
The complaint alleges that Paparazzi made its lead- and nickel-free claims to portray its jewelry as being safer and of better quality than other inexpensive jewelry. Lead is a toxic material, the complaint claims, while nickel can trigger allergic reactions or discolor skin.
Paparazzi originally offered a line of children’s jewelry which was discontinued in February 2022.
Paparazzi removed the “lead- and nickel-free” claims from its website around December 2021 or January 2022. The complaint quotes the website as now saying that “some [of its] jewelry may contain trace amounts of lead and nickel[.]”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Paparazzi Jewelry Contains Nickel and Lead Complaint
June 16, 2022
Paparazzi, LLC is a multi-level marketing business which recruits salespeople to sell inexpensive jewelry, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other accessories. The company prominently and frequently advertised that its products were lead- and nickel-free, but the complaint for this class action alleges they contained significant quantities of those substances.
Paparazzi Jewelry Contains Nickel and Lead ComplaintCase Event History
Paparazzi Jewelry Contains Nickel and Lead Complaint
June 16, 2022
Paparazzi, LLC is a multi-level marketing business which recruits salespeople to sell inexpensive jewelry, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other accessories. The company prominently and frequently advertised that its products were lead- and nickel-free, but the complaint for this class action alleges they contained significant quantities of those substances.
Paparazzi Jewelry Contains Nickel and Lead Complaint