In a positive development for FMCG giant Dabur, two of its overseas subsidiaries, namely Dabur International and Dermoviva Skin Essentials, have been removed as defendants from multiple lawsuits filed in a US court. These lawsuits alleged that their hair-relaxer products were responsible for causing ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and other associated health issues. Nonetheless, the lawsuits against the third international subsidiary, Namaste Laboratories LLC, are set to persist in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as indicated in a statement released by Dabur on Wednesday.
Dabur International and Dermoviva were granted relief and removed from multiple lawsuits due to a lack of jurisdiction. This decision was based on the fact that they have not engaged in the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, or sale of hair relaxer products in the United States, as stated.
Dabur India’s three international subsidiaries, Namaste Laboratories LLC, Dermoviva Skin Essentials Inc, and Dabur International Ltd, were confronted with around 5,400 cases across federal and state courts in the US. These cases were subsequently consolidated in the Northern District of Illinois, as disclosed by the company in a regulatory filing last month.
Read More: Dabur subsidiaries face multiple lawsuits in the US and Canada over hair-relaxer products
“We wish to inform that Dabur and Dermoviva have been dismissed as defendants in federal cases, which were consolidated as a Multi-District Litigation, before the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, for lack of personal jurisdiction as neither Dabur nor Dermoviva manufactured, marketed, distributed or sold hair relaxer products in the US,” said Dabur India on Wednesday.
Hence, now only Namaste remains as a defendant in these cases along with many other industry players such as L’Oreal, SoftSheen/Carson, Luster Products Inc, Avlon Industries, Inc. PDC Brands (Parfums de Coeur, Ltd), Revlon etc,” Dabur added.
The Homegrown FMCG and Ayurvedic products maker further stated that this lawsuit does not concern any Dabur brand or product and said the sale of hair relaxer products by Namaste contributed less than one per cent of the total consolidated turnover.
“We would like to reiterate that Namaste is confident in the safety of its products and believes that these lawsuits have no legal merits hence denies any liability and has retained counsel to defend it in these lawsuits as these allegations are based on unsubstantiated and incomplete study published in the journal of the National Institute of Health, which study has already been held to be redundant by the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association in the European Union,” said Dabur.
Moreover, Namaste has product liability insurance cover in place for any potential damages/claims and defence costs, it added.
Certain consumers using hair relaxer products had complained alleging that some industry players had sold products that contain certain chemicals. Using these hair relaxer products has caused ovarian cancer, uterine cancer and other health issues in the users,” Dabur had informed earlier.
According to the latest report, Dabur India has 27 subsidiary companies, which contributed to 26.60 per cent of the consolidated revenue from operations in FY 2022-23.
Its revenue from international business was at INR 2,867 crore, recording a growth of 11.1 per cent in constant currency terms in FY23.
Dabur India has manufacturing facilities at eight international locations, according to its latest annual report.
