DocketNumber: Case No. 17-cv-03193-VC
Citation Numbers: 390 F. Supp. 3d 1100
Judges: Chhabria
Filed Date: 7/25/2019
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/25/2022
Both parties' motions for summary judgment are denied. There is a genuine factual dispute about whether Natrol's assertions that mega-doses of biotin "Promote[ ] Healthy Hair and Strong Nails" are false or misleading. Dkt. No. 12-1 at 2; cf. Sonner v. Schwabe North America, Inc. ,
*1101Jensen's evidence comes by way of her expert, Dr. Wolf, who explains that: (i) biotin serves a limited but basic role in normal cellular metabolism; (ii) the average western diet gives the typical person more than enough of it; and (iii) excess biotin is excreted through the urine. Given its limited role and its abundance in a typical diet, Wolf concludes "that the Defendant's biotin products do not provide any benefits to the general population and, thus, they do not help support healthy hair, [or] strong nails .... These biotin supplements, such as Defendant's, are superfluous and unnecessary." Wolf Report at ¶ 11, Dkt. No. 63-3. A reasonable jury could base a verdict for Jensen on Wolf's analysis and conclusion. Cf. Mullins v. Premier Nutrition Corp. ,
Natrol's evidence comes by way of two expert reports and a host of small trials, scientific reviews, and animal studies. This evidence seems quite shaky, but Jensen's primary critiques of it go more to its persuasiveness than its admissibility. See In re Roundup Products Liability Litigation , No. 16-MD-02741-VC,
Jensen's motion to strike Natrol's expert testimony and several of its supporting articles is also denied. The articles, while not disclosed in the experts' reports, were cited to Jensen with enough opportunity to contest them. The Court also does not find the experts categorically unqualified. Dr. Schauss's experience with supplement labeling makes up for his lack of specific experience with biotin. And Dr. Novick's testimony may prove helpful at least for the limited purpose of contextualizing the IOM's adequate intake value.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Jensen has both constitutional and statutory standing to challenge the statements on the products' labels because she presents evidence that she relied on them, at least in substantial part. See In re iPhone Application Litigation ,