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 Lawyers for the companies and for plaintiffs suing over the
Neutrogena and Aveeno-branded aerosol sunscreen products disclosed
the settlement in a court filing in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida
federal court on Friday, without revealing its terms.
They said they expected to submit the settlement for court approval
by Nov. 19.
J&J said in an emailed statement: "This agreement, which is subject
to court approval, is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing
... We strongly dispute the merits of these lawsuits and stand
behind our position that we marketed our sunscreen products
appropriately and responsibly."
J&J voluntarily recalled four Neutrogena aerosol sunscreen products
and one from Aveeno on July 14, after finding small amounts of
benzene, a carcinogen. It said the levels it detected were too low
to pose a health risk, but "out of an abundance of caution" pulled
all lots of the products and offered refunds.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said following the recall it
was investigating how benzene had ended up in the sunscreens.
A federal judicial panel earlier this month consolidated lawsuits
filed nationwide against J&J and Costco, which sold the products, in
the Florida court. The settlement would resolve all of the claims in
the consolidated litigation, according to the filing.
Plaintiffs have said in court filings that tens of thousands of
consumers could have claims.
Costco and plaintiffs' lawyers did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and David Holmes)
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