Benzene-based consumer class actions are becoming almost routine. So are their dismissals on preemption grounds. It takes something a little different to make one stand out. The plaintiff in Leonard v. CVS Pharmacy, 2026 WL 986311 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 13, 2026), tried just that, invoking a res ipsa loquitur–type theory to plead “parallel”
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Navarro – Another Benzene Ring Busted
By Bexis on
As we have discussed more times than we like, the plaintiffs’ class action cabal, in conjunction with their running-dog Valisure “if it doesn’t have it, we’ll cook it until it does” “testing” laboratory, has targeted various products supposedly containing benzene contaminants. The result has been a plethora of no-injury class actions by plaintiffs who…
Same Theory, Same Result: Benzene OTC Class Action Runs Into the Same Preemption Wall
By Michelle Yeary on
Today’s case, Kouyate v. L. Perrigo Company, 2026 WL 591874 (W.D. Mich. Mar. 3, 2026), is the latest entry in the ever-growing pile of meritless benzene OTC class actions. This time, the target is acne treatments containing benzoyl peroxide (BPO), with the now-familiar allegation that BPO degrades into benzene during storage and shipping. If…
N.D. Illinois Adds a Track to the Preemption/Benzene Album
By Michelle Yeary on
Admittedly, we sometimes feel like a broken record playing the same song over and over. But doesn’t everyone have that favorite album that they can put on a loop and never get tired of? (Prince’s Purple Rain; The Beatles 1967-1970; Elton John’s Two Rooms). For the DDL blog, that album would be…
Magistrate Recommends Dismissal of Acne OTC / Benzene Claims
By Adaeze Ashiedu on
Today we address two more cooked-up—literally—Valisure cases, Bodunde v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., No. 1:24-CV-00985-JLT-SAB, 2025 WL 1411306 (E.D. Cal. May 15, 2025), and Navarro v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., No. 1:24-CV-00290-JLT-SAB, 2025 WL 1411406 (E.D. Cal. May 15, 2025).
These two cases involve legally identical magistrate recommendations that Defendant’s motions to dismiss…
C.D. Cal. Dismisses Acne OTC/Benzene Claims as Preempted
By Stephen McConnell on
It might seem that we talk about preemption incessantly on this blog, but a pretty good opinion from a pretty important jurisdiction went unremarked by us last September. We’ll rectify that right now. Call it an end of year clean up session.
The decision in Howard v. Alchemee, LLC, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169359…
Bogus Benzene Exposure Case Sunk by Spoliation and Bad Experts
By Michelle Yeary on
One of those experts was plaintiff himself—an emergency room doctor with a law degree. We all know what they say about lawyers who represent themselves. And that applies equally to doctors who try to act as their own causation experts. Add to that destructive testing after telling defendant no product existed and four more unreliable…
Sunscreen Benzene Complaint Gets Burnt
By Stephen McConnell on
Back in 1997, a Chicago Tribune columnist wrote a hypothetical commencement speech that garnered a lot of attention. Like most commencement speeches, it offered uplifting advice to the bright young minds about to enter the working world. Unlike most, it directed the graduates to wear sunscreen. That suggestion (often wrongly attributed to Kurt Vonnegut) became…
W.D. Louisiana Dismisses Antiperspirant Benzene Case
By Stephen McConnell on
We’ve noticed a recent uptick in product liability lawsuits brought against over the counter (OTC) and other consumer products. (Shameless plug: we will be on a panel discussing such litigation at ACI in NYC on January 23-24.). These are products that do not require a prescription. Maybe plaintiff lawyers prefer cases without any pesky learned intermediary who…
E.D. Louisiana Dismisses Antiperspirant/Benzene Claims—Again
By Steven Boranian on
We are in New Orleans for the annual DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar, so we would be remiss if we passed up the opportunity to write on a Louisiana case. The case will sound familiar. We reported six months ago on the dismissal of a case brought by the same plaintiff alleging that benzene…