SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – A class action lawsuit alleges a maker of wipes markets them as “flushable,” even though the wipes are not.
Jamie Pettit filed the lawsuit April 6 in California Superior Court against Procter & Gamble alleging the personal hygiene moistened wipes don’t actually break down when flushed. The defendant removed the suit to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 21.
Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse
The lawsuit says the wipes actually: damage and clog plumbing pipes; don’t break down and damage in septic tanks; catch on municipal sewage line screens; and damage those lines and pumps. Pettit said because the damage done by the wipes is so severe, California has outlawed the flushing of the wipes. “Reasonable consumers would not pay a premium to obtain the benefits of a ‘flushable’ wipe if [Procter & Gamble] disclosed the risks of flushing the wipes and that flushing the wipes is in fact illegal,” the lawsuit said.
Pettit seeks class status in the suit, and an unspecified amount in damages.
Pettit is represented by attorneys Adam J. Gutride, Seth A. Safier, Marie McCrary and Kristen G. Simplico of Gutride Safier in San Francisco; Lorenzo B. Cellini of Tycko & Zavareei in Washington, D.C.; and Stuart E. Scott and Daniel Frech of Spangenberg Shibley & Liber in Cleveland.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case 3:15-cv-02150
