Dial Complete Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash

May 2019: The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch and the Attorneys General of twelve states opposed the terms of the settlement agreement arguing, among other things, that the injunctive relief is illusory. Despite these objections, the judge granted final approval of the settlement agreement.

April 2019: The parties moved for final approval of the settlement agreement. A final fairness hearing is scheduled for May 29, 2019.

January 2019: A federal judge preliminarily approved a settlement agreement that would resolve this lawsuit. According to the terms, class members may receive a cash award estimated to be approximately $0.27 for each bottle of soap purchased. Class members with proof of purchase may receive an award for every product purchased while those without proof of purchase may receive awards for up to 30 products. In addition, the company agreed not to use the challenged language – including that Dial Complete “Kills 99.99% of germs” – and to remove the ingredient triclosan from products. However, the company has only agreed to implement these changes for a period of five years. For more information, go to http://www.soapsettlement.com/.

December 2018: Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint that brings similar allegations.

March 2017: A federal judge certified the class.

2011: Several false advertising class-action lawsuits regarding the marketing of Dial Complete Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash were transferred to one court to be heard together. The 2012 Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint alleges that The Dial Corporation markets the hand wash as providing special health benefits – including killing more germs than any other hand soap, killing more than 99% of bacteria, and being 1,000 times more effective at killing disease-causing germs than other antibacterial liquid hand soaps – without adequate evidence demonstrating that Dial Complete provides the promised results. (In Re Dial Complete Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, Case No. 11-md-2263, D. NH.)

For more information about TINA.org’s coverage of the marketing of hand soap, click here.