MEDIA – A Delaware County man contends that he has suffered permanent vitiligo as a result of using Just For Men hair color products which he purchased at a local CVS pharmacy store.
Timothy Moore and Jean Moore filed suit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas on Jan. 20 versus Combe Incorporated of White Plains, N.Y. and CVS Health Corporation of Woonsocket, R.I.
“Defendant Combe markets Just For Men hair dyes for application to hair on the scalp, moustache, and beard, with the intent of improving and/or altering hair and facial hair color. Just For Men products contain multiple ingredients, including a chemical known as p-phenylenediamine. When PPD comes in contact with the skin, there are certain known health risks, including irritation, soreness, redness, itching and burning, as well as allergic reactions,” the suit says.
“In 2017, plaintiff, Timothy Moore, began using Just For Men products to reduce the greying of his hair. Plaintiff Moore would purchase the Just For Men products from defendant CVS at various locations throughout Delaware County, where defendant regularly sold Just For Men products in its retail stores. From 2017 through 2020, plaintiff Moore began noticing the patches of vitiligo and/or skin depigmentation spread across his scalp and his body.”
Over that three-year time period, Moore estimated he used Just For Men products between 50 and 75 times. Not until October 2020, when he ordered the products online through CVS’s website, the suit says, did Moore learn that using the products came with a risk of developing vitiligo and/or skin depigmentation.
The plaintiff believes the defendants failed to properly warn of the risks associated with using the Just For Men products.
“Neither plaintiff Moore, nor any of his medical providers, suggested or learned that the Just For Men products were the cause of his vitiligo until October of 2020. It is believed, and therefore averred, that the vitiligo experienced by plaintiff Moore is permanent,” the suit states.
For counts of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty and loss of consortium, the plaintiffs are seeking damages, individually, jointly and/or severally, against defendants in an amount in excess of $50,000, together with interest, costs of suit, delay damages, any and all other relief this Court deems necessary, appropriate and just, in addition to a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by Matthew J. Bilker of Eckell Sparks Levy Auerbach Monte Sloane Matthews & Auslander, in Media.
The defendants have not yet secured legal counsel.
Delaware County Court of Common Pleas case CV-2022-000401
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com