With Circuits Mis-Aligned, Sixth Circuit Stays Class Certification Pending Appeal

As our readers may remember, Procter & Gamble ("P&G") stomached a loss last August when the Sixth Circuit affirmed certification of a false advertising class action regarding P&G's Align probiotic supplement. But on October 27, the Sixth Circuit stayed its decision pending P&G's petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court. As discussed below, P&G contends that plaintiffs have not sufficiently demonstrated a common injury.

P&G began to sell Align in 2005, mainly through doctor-driven sales. In 2009, it launched a widespread promotional campaign. Plaintiffs alleged Align was "snake oil" that produced only a placebo effect rather than true digestive health benefits. The three named plaintiffs had purchased the supplements in several different states, including California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire and North Carolina. The suit was originally filed in California federal court before it was moved to Ohio federal court, where U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black granted a motion to certify the suit as five single-state class actions. A split three-judge panel for the Sixth Circuit upheld this decision.

In its opposition to class certification, P&G argued that there was insufficient evidence of a common injury incurred by class members, and indeed, that the named plaintiffs had not shown that they suffered any injury at all, because they presented only anecdotal claims that the product was ineffective. In her dissent from the majority decision affirming class certification, Sixth Circuit Judge Deborah Cook agreed with P&G, writing that the class should not have been certified because they had not presented sufficient evidence of Align's alleged ineffectiveness. According to Judge Cook, plaintiffs claimed Align produced only a placebo effect, but they "offer no proof in support of this argument, and all the available evidence tends to show the opposite: that consumers benefit more or less from Align based on their individual gastrointestinal health." However, the Sixth Circuit glossed over this, ruling that at the class certification stage, plaintiffs must show only that they can eventually prove a common injury, not that they have already done so.

On October 6, P&G moved to stay this ruling, arguing that the Sixth Circuit had upheld certification despite a lack of evidence that consumers were actually harmed. The stay motion pointed out that Judge Cook's dissent highlighted the "substantial dispute that exists on these issues" and argued...