Biggest Lawsuit III: Two More Suits Gain on Jillian Michaels
So many lawsuits, so little time. As noted in a prior post, trainer Jillian Michaels has been sued over her endorsement of a diet pill that the original plaintiff (in a suit seeking class action status) claims did not work. An additional suit, nearly identical to the first, was filed February 11, by a second plaintiff, Stephanie Creer. Now comes a third lawsuit against Michaels, filed by Kathy Hensley on February 16, also in Los Angeles Superior Court.
According to a report by the Boston Examiner, as with the other complaints, Hensley has brought her lawsuit against Michaels and the two companies involved in the manufacture of the diet pills "Jillian Michaels Maximum Strength Fat Burner," Thin Care and Basic Research. The first two suits were based on this simple fact pattern: plaintiff claims that she took the pills, and lo and behold, nothing happened!
However, this third action by Hensley takes the allegations up a notch. According to the Examiner, the suit alleges that the mix of ingredients in the diet aids is "potentially lethal" and that the main ingredient in the pills, citrus aurantium, has been known to cause high blood pressure and cardiac problems in some individuals. Hensely claims that the citrus aurantium was not disclosed by the manufacturers as the main ingredient in pills.
After the first suit was filed, Michaels responded to the reports, telling the AP, "My reputation and credibility are of the utmost importance to me. This baseless lawsuit is entirely without merit and is being handled by my legal team."
As a side note, one may reasonably wonder if any of the plaintiffs who are fans of Ms. Michaels, and thus induced to purchase the products that are the basis for the suits, have actually seen the show she is on? Michaels acts as personal trainer and coach to the very overweight contestants on the program "The Biggest Loser." These folks fight to lose weight and re-learn healthy eating habits to help them control their weight and improve their health and appearance. On the show, the "Losers" cry, starve, struggle, and sweat. And sweat some more. There appear to be no pills involved.
Related Resources:
- Jillian Michaels of 'Biggest Loser' now facing third lawsuit (Boston Examiner)
- The Biggest Lawsuit: Jillian Michaels Sued Over Diet Pills (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice)
- Protecting Your Business from Product Liability Claims (FindLaw)
- Ephedra - Overview (FindLaw)
- Types of Products Liability Cases (provided by Galligan & Reid, P.C.)
- Personal Injury from Defective Products (provided by Mitchell Hurst Jacobs & Dick, LLP)