Steve Garvey not liable for weight loss pills

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Sep 2, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court cleared former baseball star Steve Garvey of wrongdoing for hawking a weight-loss product that makers claimed would work even if dieters continued to eat fatty food.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals did reinstate the Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against producers of the television infomercials Garvey appeared in to endorse the two products.

The FTC alleges that the production company Modern Interactive Technology, Inc. made false advertising claims when it aired infomercials 48,000 from December 1998 to May 2000.

The dietary supplements marketer, Enforma Natural Products Inc., had settled a related lawsuit with the FTC for $10 million in 2000.

In 2002, the judge cleared Garvey of any wrongdoing and the FTC appealed. The court ruled that Garvey didn't know of any misrepresentations nor did he purposely lie during the infomercials.

Garvey, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, was the National League MVP in 1974. He earned $1.1 million for appearing in the infomercials.