Aquaphor Maker Must Keep Defending Preservative Deception Claims

Beiersdorf Inc. failed to convince a federal judge to toss a proposed class action alleging the company deceptively advertised its Aquaphor lip products as free from preservatives even though the products contained the cosmetic preservative sodium ascorbyl phosphate.

Plaintiff Deon Watts sufficiently alleged that she overpaid for the product based on the alleged deception, which overcomes the motion-to-dismiss stage, the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York said Thursday.

Watts seeks to represent a nationwide consumer class.

Judge Hector Gonzalez rejected Beiersdorf’s argument that Watts couldn’t allege deception because she didn’t show that SAP works as a ...