Los Angeles, CA: The maker of the popular energy drink 5-Hour Energy is facing several consumer fraud class action lawsuits alleging the company falsely markets the drink as being a dietary supplement that provides 5 hours of sustained energy with no "crash later"effect.
The issue specifically, as alleged in one of the class action lawsuits, filed by by plaintiff Thomas Guarino, is that the 5-Hour Energy product statement "Hours of energy now" No crash later,"is "not true, as admitted on the Defendant' website and hidden behind the bottles in the display, which reads: 'No crash means no sugar crash.'
The lawsuit continues "Reasonable consumers should not be expected to look beyond deceptive representation[s] made on the display and label to discover the truth about a product from an ingredient list set out in small print on the side of the package, or on the Defendant' website."
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that defendant, Innovation Ventures LLC (d/b/a Living Essentials), the maker of 5-Hour Energy, is aware of data from studies which show the same kind of performance from less expensive, competitor products, and that 5-Hour Energy wears off as fast, if not faster than other energy product alternatives while delivering the same "crash"after effects.
These allegedly fraudulent advertising claims result in consumers suffering economic damages through the purchase of products that do not perform as claimed, and by paying more for a product that is not superior to other, similar products.
The three 5-Hour ENERGY class action lawsuits have been filed in Illinois, Missouri and Louisiana against Innovation Ventures LLC (d/b/a Living Essentials). The plaintiffs are represented by Mark Geragos of Geragos and Geragos.
The class action lawsuits are: Guarino v. Innovation Ventures LLC, d/b/a Living Essentials, Case No. 13-cv-00101-GPM-PMF, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois; Forrest v. Innovation Ventures LLC, Case No. 13-cv-00172, U.S. District Court, Eastern District Missouri; and Waring, et al. v. Innovation Ventures LLC, Case No. 13-cv-00156, U.S. District Court, Eastern District Louisiana.
