In early February, defendants filed a motion to dismiss class action lawsuits over the toxic hair relaxer chemicals, arguing that the claims for economic harm are preempted by federal law, and that plaintiffs have not alleged sufficient claim of injury to pursue a nationwide class action.
In March, plaintiffs responded, indicating that the arguments being put forward by the manufacturers have already been addressed by the Court, and should be rejected.
In separate orders issued on September 27, Judge Rowland primarily sided with plaintiffs, clearing the class action lawsuits over hair relaxer risks to proceed.
In one memorandum and order (PDF), Judge Rowland pruned a couple of the plaintiffs’ claims, mostly due to the particulars of laws in certain states, while overall rejecting defendants’ arguments that plaintiffs lacked standing and had not sufficiently filed the complaints.
In another order (PDF), she rejected defendants motion to dismiss the class allegations and efforts to recoup punitive damages, which are intended to punish the manufacturers for recklessly disregarding the health and safety of consumers.
“The Court declines to strike Plaintiffs’ punitive damages allegations,” Judge Rowland wrote. “Plaintiffs allege more than bare allegations of willful and malicious conduct…and the Court previously found similar allegations were sufficient to seek punitive damages.”
October 2024 Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Update
As the class action lawsuits over hair relaxers move forward, the court is continuing with efforts to prepare a group of personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits for early trial dates in the MDL.
In November 2023, Judge Rowland ordered the parties to propose competing hair relaxer lawsuit bellwether trial plans, outlining a process for selecting a small group of bellwether cases that will go through case-specific discovery in preparation for early trial dates, which are unlikely to make it before a jury until at least 2026.
Though the outcomes of each individual trial are not binding on other personal injury lawsuits in the MDL, the average hair relaxer lawsuit payouts in these early test cases will have a substantial impact on the amount of money the manufacturers may be required to pay to avoid the need for thousands of individual cases to go before separate juries nationwide.
Following coordinated discovery in the MDL and any early bellwether trials, if the parties fail to negotiate hair relaxer settlements for individuals diagnosed with uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and other complications, Judge Rowland may later remand each individual lawsuit directly filed in the MDL back to the U.S. District Court where it would have originated for a separate trial.