Bayer Fails to Exit False Ad Suit Over ‘Mineral-Based’ Sunscreen

Bayer HealthCare LLC and Beiersdorf Inc. can’t avoid a would-be class suit alleging certain “mineral-based” Coppertone sunscreens are deceptively marketed, because consumers could be deceived by the phrase, the Northern District of California said.

Consumers could construe the words to mean the main active ingredients are mineral ingredients, but plaintiffs Steven Prescott and Mike Xavier allege the products contain a roughly equal proportion of chemical active ingredients, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said.

Chemical-based sunscreens contain synthetic ingredients that protect the skin by absorbing ultraviolet radiation and dissipating it as heat. Mineral-based products use zinc ...