P&G wins one: Aleve's claims not deceptive, California court rules

Drug Store News, Sept 13, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Procter & Gamble, the makers of Aleve, did not deceive consumers when it advertised that Aleve as being "gentler to the stomach than aspirin," according to the Superior Court of California. Judge Isabella Grant has ruled that P&G is not liable for the more than $100 million in claims related to a class action suit filed under California's Unfair Practices Act.

P&G's Santa Monica, Calif.-based attorney David J. Fleming effectively argued that advertising for Aleve was the culmination of years of testing and research that began in 1987.

According to Fleming, the California courts are full of similar lawsuits filed under the state's unfair practices legislation, representing a huge potential liability to companies doing business in California. "While the statute outlaws unfair or fraudulent business practices... the extreme broadness of [it] allows fee-seeking attorneys to go after businesses who make honest mistakes or even no real mistake at all," he said "The message is that these cases can be tried and won."