News in Brief April 4 – Colgate, Abilify and More

Abilify Causes Compulsive Behavior According To FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that says Abilify users may be able to attribute unnatural shopping sprees and binge eating (along with uncontrollable sex and gambling urges) to their use of the medication. In the midst of this new warning, the maker of Abilify is facing 20 federal lawsuits and 12 New Jersey lawsuits from people who said they experienced uncontrollable urges while taking the drug.

Supplement Companies Settle Deceptive Marketing Suit

More than 40 supplement companies have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that they charged consumers for products they never intended to purchase. On top of that, the lawsuit alleged that the companies lied about the quality of their products to trick customers into handing over their financial information – which was then used to set up recurring charges. Under the settlement, the companies are to pay a total of $9.2 million to the FTC. They are also banned from selling certain supplements and using programs that automatically charge their customers.

Home Depot, Citizens Bank Classes Certified

Home Depot and Citizens Bank employees have reason to celebrate, as the judge in both their cases granted certification on Tuesday. Employees from both companies are alleging that they were cheated out of overtime pay by their employers. The Home Depot workers have been certified as a class of close to 20,000 employees that regularly worked more than eight hours in a day – past midnight in some instances. The certification in Citizens Bank’s collective action means that other mortgage loan officers can now submit paperwork to “opt in” and be included in the case, which was filed by three employees of the bank.

Colgate Sued Over Whitening Toothpaste Claims

Colgate has been hit with a proposed class action that says the tooth-whitening claims on its Optic White Platinum toothpaste are over-exaggerated and deceptive. Despite advertisements that the toothpaste “deeply whitens” teeth, it, in reality, contains the same whitening ingredient as other, less expensive brands, according to the complaint. The lawsuit is looking to reimburse a class of people who bought the toothpaste and to prevent Colgate from continuing the allegedly misleading marketing strategy.