Natrol LLC, a leading seller of vitamins and dietary supplements, prevailed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit when the three-judge panel unanimously upheld the district court’s order granting summary judgment to Natrol in a putative class action that involved an alleged violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and a claim for unjust enrichment. Faegre Drinker represented Natrol in the district court and on appeal in the Eighth Circuit.
In the case, the plaintiff replaced her physician-prescribed medication for attention-deficit disorder (ADD) with Natrol’s memory aid, Cognium, and filed suit when she did not notice cognitive improvement from Cognium. She alleged that she would not have purchased the product had she known that two of the nine clinical trials supporting Cognium’s efficacy had been retracted or withdrawn. As Cognium’s label includes the Food and Drug Administration mandated statement “this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease,” the Eighth Circuit agreed with the district court that the label makes clear the product is not intended to treat any disease. Because the plaintiff could not have bargained for the benefit of a supplement to treat her ADD, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of both the Chapter 93A and unjust enrichment claims.
