Colgate Case Moves Forward

On June 17, 2015, Judge Jesus Bernal of the United States District Court for the Central District of California allowed nationwide class claims to move forward against Colgate-Palmolive Co. The lawsuit alleges that Colgate falsely represents that Colgate Optic White Toothpaste goes beyond surface stain removal to deeply whiten teeth in violation of a host of California consumer protection statutes and state warranty laws.

In his ruling denying Colgate’s motion to dismiss, Judge Bernal stated that “Colgate moved to dismiss Dean’s plainly well-pleaded Complaint, and, facing a looming class of consumers, adopted the time-worn strategy of throwing everything at the wall and hoping something would stick. Nothing did.”

L. Timothy Fisher, one of Bursor & Fisher’s partners handling the matter, said that “we are pleased with Judge Bernal’s ruling and look forward to litigating our claims on behalf of consumers who have been taken in by Colgate’s promise of deep whitening.”