Karina Basso  |  July 31, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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clorox fresh step cat litterOn Monday, a California federal judge presiding over a class action lawsuit alleging that Clorox Fresh Step cat litter is deceptively advertised denied consumers’ class certification, ruling that it would not be feasible to identify enough buyers of the cat litter allegedly deceived by the product’s ad campaign.

The Clorox Fresh Step class action lawsuit alleges that the consolidated Class of consumers were misled by advertisements for the cat litter, which claimed that Clorox’s carbon-based cat litter was more effective in eliminating pet odors than other non-carbon based products. The ad campaign in question involves several commercials aired in October 2012 and related packaging with similar advertising claims.

The plaintiff’s submitted a motion to certify five subclasses in California, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Texas who were allegedly deceived by the misleading ad campaign promoting Fresh Step’s carbon-based cat litter. The consolidated class action lawsuit adopted many of the same allegations as another class action lawsuit filed by the makers of Arm & Hammer Super Scoop cat litter, a baking soda-based litter product, who contested the information in the Clorox cat litter commercials.

The two cat litter makers settled outside of court, but the consumer class action lawsuit continued.

However, on July 28, U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti denied the Clorox Fresh Step class action lawsuit certification because of the plaintiffs’ inability to identify the Class. Judge Conti found that the proposed Class could not be ascertained because the named plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit had not kept records or receipts of their alleged cat litter purchases.

Additionally, the court also found that retailer records were not sufficient evidence in identifying a significant number of Clorox Fresh Step customers in order to move the Class forward.

According to the class action lawsuit, “Customers do no remember when they purchased Fresh Step cat litter or how much they bought. … Only two of the sixteen retailers plaintiffs contacted can help identify a substantial number of plaintiffs.” Based on Judge Conti’s estimation, there is no feasible method to determine the proposed Class.

Of the major retailers who sell Clorox’s Fresh Step cat litter, five did not respond to the request for consumer information or allegedly refused to help support the class action lawsuit allegations. An additional six retailers did not have records useful to the plaintiffs, and three retailers did not have enough information to help the Fresh Step consumer Class.

Finally, Judge Conti called the class action lawsuit “hopelessly overbroad” and said it failed to raise common questions among Class Members. Additionally, the alleged falsely advertised TV commercials did not air for the majority of the outlined Class period and the accompanying false statements were only present on some of the Fresh Step packaging, the judge said.

The Clorox Fresh Step class action lawsuit states, “There is powerful evidence that most members of the proposed classes probably never saw the allegedly misleading statements . . . Plaintiffs simply cannot demonstrate that the proposed classes were uniformly exposed to the allegedly misleading messages.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, Labaton Sucharow LLP, Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP and Faruqi & Faruqi LLP.

The Clorox Fresh Step Cat Litter Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Clorox Consumer Litigation, Case No. 3:12-cv-00280, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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2 thoughts onJudge Scoops Clorox Fresh Step Class Action Lawsuit, Denies Certification

  1. Angelica Romero says:

    Add me

  2. priscilla butler says:

    I have a cat and I like to buy the cat liter that makes your house smell good Clorox Fresh Pet Step cat liter is what I use to always buy before I seen it lied about being fresh.

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