For the past two years, the number of lawsuits targeting the manufacturer and distributors of the dietary supplement and workout product OxyElite Pro has steadily increased across the nation. This page will be updated frequently in order to provide consumers and injured people with updates on the status of OxyElite Pro lawsuits.
What Kinds of Lawsuits Have Been Filed?
OxyElite Pro lawsuits filed to date mostly fall into one of the following categories:
- Consumer Class Actions: these cases primarily involve purchasers of OxyElite Pro who are not claiming personal injuries, who seek restitution of the purchase price because of alleged misrepresentations made by the manufacturer and distributors as to the ingredients or the safety and effectiveness of OxyElite Pro.
- Liver Damage Cases: a growing number of individuals have sued USPLabs and others involved in the distribution of OxyElite Pro after they developed liver damage. FDA and CDC investigators have reported on a link between a reformulated version of OxyElitePro that contains a substance called aegelene and numerous cases of liver damage.
- Cardiovacular and other Injury Cases: many people have filed lawsuits because they developed cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, after ingesting OxyElite Pro. Most of these cases involve a formulation of OxyElite Pro that contained a substance called DMAA
On January 13, 2014, lawyers for USPLabs, the manufacturer of OxyElite Pro, as well as major distributors including General Nutrition Corporation (GNC), filed papers in federal court asking that all current and future federal lawsuits involving the product be consolidated before a single federal judge.
The motion, which was made to a special panel of federal judges, seeks the creation of a so-called “multi-district litigation.” It is not unusual for federal courts to establish an MDL to handle litigation involving hundreds or even thousands of factually similar claims. An MDL court can often result in litigation being run more efficiently and economically than if cases were litigated all over the country simultaneously.
That having been said, USPLabs’ motion is clearly designed to give it an advantage over consumers. First, USPLabs has asked that a single court be designated to hear all OxyElite Pro cases, regardless of the types of cases or version of the product. This appears to be inconsistent with the purpose of an MDL, which is to coordinate factually similar cases. The OxyElite Pro class action cases are very different from the personal injury cases. Also, the injury cases are very different, depending on whether a person is alleging liver damage, which to date has been primarily linked with one formulation of the product, or cardiovascular injuries, which have been primarily linked to DMAA contained in an earlier version of the product.
More transparently anti-consumer is USPLabs’ request that the MDL it seeks be assigned to a federal judge in Pennsylvania (where its retail partner GNC is headquartered), or Texas (where USPLabs is located). Neither of these venues makes much sense, especially for liver damage cases. The vast majority of medical reports of OxyElite Pro liver damage are said to have occurred in Hawaii, and it has been postulated that Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders may be particularly susceptible to liver problems associated with the product. So, an MDL for the liver damage plaintiffs would most logically be located in Hawaii, or perhaps California.
A federal court panel is set to hear USPLabs’ motion on March 27, 2014, in San Diego, California.
File a Claim with Our Oxy Elite Recall Attorneys
If you or a loved one experienced liver problems during or even months after taking OxyElite Pro, you may be entitled to compensation. The OxyElite pro recall lawyers at The Senators Firm, have decades of experience litigating complex dietary supplement cases all over the country. Our results in achieving maximum compensation for clients who sustained liver damage from defective diet supplements speak for themselves. For more information as well as a free consultation, please call us at (949)-557-5800, or contact us through this website.