3 or more quick links on contact lens scandal Best answer on the web

Jan 08, 2009 @ 04:03 am by webmaster
  • hi there~

    this is just for conversation purposes only, no need to be formal. i remember a scandal where contact lenses of different lengths in usage (for ex 2 week lenses or 1 month lenses) were sold at different prices even though they were the same lenses. i couldn't find any reference to this on my own searches. can you help? thanks in advance!


  • Good on you Pink. What about having a crack at my Air Line Ticket Question?
    Hello and regards from: Roger


  • Wow... all that info for $2. Great job Pink!


  • The contact lens manufacturer Bausch & Lomb was sued for selling the same lens under three different names, at three different prices. A settlement was reached in 1996:
    "A court-approved settlement of a consumer class action settlement against Bausch & Lomb was announced on August 1, 1996. Final approval of the proposed settlement is scheduled for hearing on Nov. 26 in Birmingham, Alabama to determine if it is fair to consumers. The fairness hearing will be two years after the court certified a national RICO class on behalf of all purchasers of Bausch & Lomb's Optima and Medalist contact lenses in November, 1994...
    Under the settlement Bausch & Lomb will pay up to $68 million in cash and products to 1.5 million buyers of the company's disposable lenses. Many wearers will receive from $25 to $50 in cash and $25 to $50 in coupons under the settlement as a result of a class-action filed in May 1994 which alleged that the company sold the same product under different brand names at widely varying prices and engaged in a fraudulent marketing scheme in order to gain market share in the disposal lens market. The result was that some consumers paid much more because they believed they were getting different lenses.
    Bausch & Lomb denies any wrongdoing in its re-labeling program but agreed to pay up to $34 million in cash payments to consumers and in addition provide the same amount in free products, including contact lenses, sunglasses and skin-care items.
    Competition from Johnson & Johnson led Bausch & Lomb to relabel its lenses to compete with Accuview disposable lenses which have long held a premier share of the contact lens market. At the time, Bausch & Lomb was selling a long wear lens under the name of Optima, which wholesaled to optometrists for approximately $25. In order to enter the disposable market Bausch & Lomb simply repackaged its Optima lens and renamed it the Medalist for intermediate wear and as the Sequence for disposable use.
    These new and identical products were represented to be different, but the only true difference was the name on the package and the price charged."
    Consumer Law Page
    http://consumerlawpage.com/article/lenses.shtml

    Here's a detailed look at the class action litigation:

    http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR969/MR969.ch5.pdf

    The file linked above is in .pdf format. You need to have Adobe Acrobat reader software installed on your computer in order to view .pdf files. If you do not already have this software, a free download is available here:
    Adobe Acrobat Reader
    http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

    Another similar lawsuit involved Johnson & Johnson's Acuvue lenses:

    "An appellate panel last week (7th Jan 1999) ruled that a consumer fraud lawsuit against New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson can proceed as a class action, reports the Bergen Record. The lawsuit alleges that J&J charges five times as much for its Acuvue lenses as for 1-Day Acuvue, even though the products are 'interchangeable.'
    Last week's ruling upheld a previous ruling that class- action status be granted; J&J had appealed. Now millions of people who purchased lenses since 1993 can join together in a single lawsuit against the company, says the newspaper account. The plaintiff's attorneys claim losses of over $1 billion, says the paper's report, because Acuvue wearers could have purchased the less expensive 1-Day, or 1-Day users could have worn their lenses for weeks.
    J&J emphasized that although the lenses are of the same material, they are not interchangeable -- having different base curves, diameters, and power ranges. The company feels the suit is without merit, says the report.
    In 1994, Bausch & Lomb faced a similar suit. B&L settled for $68 million, and later paid an additional $1.7 million to settle investigations by 17 state Attorneys General."
    Contact Lenses Wear & Care
    http://www.contactlens.co.uk/education/public/1_day_acuvue.htm

    "Jacksonville, FL (July 27, 2001) - Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., together with plaintiffs' counsel, jointly announced today that they have reached a settlement of a class action lawsuit concerning the marketing of ACUVUE and 1-DAY ACUVUE soft contact lenses. The settlement, which has been preliminarily approved by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Camden County, grants cash, product credits and refunds towards eye examinations to members of the class based upon the number of boxes of ACUVUE contact lenses purchased by class members during the Class Period. The settlement is subject to a fairness hearing and final approval by the Court.
    The class action, filed in Camden, New Jersey, in 1996, involves allegations that Vistakon's marketing of ACUVUE and 1-DAY ACUVUE lenses created the misleading impression among consumers that the less expensive 1-DAY ACUVUE lens was different from the ACUVUE lens and should not be used for the same wear schedule as the ACUVUE lens, when in fact both lenses are medically suitable for the same wear schedules. The action did not question the quality or safety of the lenses.
    Johnson & Johnson and Vistakon deny these allegations. The Court has not ruled on either the merits of plaintiffs' claims or the defenses, and the settlement in no way implies or acknowledges any wrongdoing by Johnson & Johnson or Vistakon."
    Johnson & Johnson
    http://www.jnj.com/news/jnj_news/20020306_1029.htm

    My search for this information was made simpler by my remembering that Bausch & Lomb was involved in one of the suits. At the time of the lawsuit, I was using Bausch & Lomb contacts myself, so I took some interest in the proceedings (although I did not join the class action suit.)
    These were the search terms that proved most useful in finding the links I've listed:
    "bausch & lomb" + "lawsuit"
    "contact lenses" + "lawsuit"
    "johnson & johnson" + "lawsuit"
    "bausch & lomb" + "litigation"
    "contact lenses" + "litigation"
    "johnson & johnson" + "litigation"
    "bausch & lomb" + "class action"
    "contact lenses" + "class action"
    "johnson & johnson" + "class action"

    I hope this the information you need. If anything I've said is unclear, or if a link does not function, please request clarification; I'll gladly offer further assistance before you rate my answer.
    Best wishes,
    pinkfreud


  • wow! thanks so much!