Lawsuit Filed Against Makers of Sunscreen

[Jacklou59]

LOS ANGELES - A law firm known for going after big corporations has filed a suit accusing sunscreen makers of exaggerating how well their products protect against harmful ultraviolet rays.

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The lawsuit claims that the sunscreens don't block all UVA rays, which can cause skin cancer. It seeks consumer refunds and wants to force the manufacturers to give up earnings from sales of such products.

"Sunscreen is the snake oil of the 21st century," said Samuel Rudman, a partner in Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins, which filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. "False claims such as 'sunblock,' 'waterproof' and 'all-day protection' should be removed from these products immediately."

Coppertone manufacture Schering-Plough Corp. "vigorously disputed" the allegations, spokeswoman Denise Foy said. It and another maker, Johnson & Johnson's Neutrogena Corp., said their sunscreens comply with Food and Drug Administration rules.

Dermatologists agree that sunscreens don't provide full protection but still consider them beneficial.

"It's akin to someone suing a seat belt manufacturer because seat belts don't prevent 100 percent of the deaths," said Dr. Richard G. Glogau, a clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco.

More than $455 million worth of sunscreen and tanning lotions are sold each year.

The San Diego-based Lerach firm is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit, which combines nine earlier complaints. Also named as defendants were Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, BullfrogPlaytex Products, Tanning Research Laboratories and Chattem Brands.

Among the law firm's other targets have been computer maker Dell, phone carrier Qwest Communications International, investment banks Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co., and brokerage firms Marsh & McLennan Cos. and Aon.

For more information http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060401/...nscreen_suit_3

[Woodmonkey]

This is ridiculous. Sunscreen does help people like me who only burn, and never ever tan. Even when the burn wears off, the skill is still white. Thanks to sunscreen, I went hiking, swimming, camping etc without fear of sunburn.

[Jacklou59]

This world is going crazy with lawsuites, thats why I posted the thread to see the reaction

[JudyLynne]

Originally Posted by Jacklou59

This world is going crazy with lawsuites, thats why I posted the thread to see the reaction

Yes, the world is going crazy with lawsuites. I have a neighbor who tries
to sue everyone for anything.

[hughesjw]

I propose a new statute governing all lawyers and their firms:

1. Act in one gratuitous lawsuit = warning and have their heads shaved
2. Act in two gratuitous lawsuits = disbarred and have their heads shaved and dyed purple
3. If a firm participates in three gratuitous lawsuits the firm assets are confiscated, the partners are disbarred, the firm is shut down, and every lawyer on staff is marched through the streets in feathered tutus for the ridicule of the populace.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by JudyLynne

Yes, the world is going crazy with lawsuites. I have a neighbor who tries
to sue everyone for anything.

Does she wonder why she has no friends and people are afraid to have her over for a visit or take her in their car?