ROCHESTER — Wegmans is facing a class action lawsuit over its store brand sunscreen, according to multiple reports.
The suit was filed earlier in May by Joelle Thomas of Irondequoit in state Supreme Court in Monroe County. The firm that filed the suit, Sheehan & Associates in Great Neck, is looking to represent anyone who bought the sunscreen in New York expecting it to be “reef conscious,” according to The Buffalo News.
Despite the labeling indicating it’s friendly to reefs, the sunscreen actually contains ingredients that are considered harmful to reef ecosystems, according to WROC in Rochester.
The product mentioned in the suit is Wegmans Brand Sport Broad Spectrum, according to the News.
The suit argues that labeling the sunscreen as “reef conscious” allows Wegmans to charge a premium price. But the product doesn’t deliver on its promises, the suit states, according to WHEC in Rochester.
The suit is seeking monetary damages, along with costs and expenses, WROC said.
“Defendant’s false and deceptive representations and omissions . . . that it would not cause harm to fragile and critical reef ecosystems and/or not cause environmental harm, are material in that they are likely to influence consumer purchasing decisions,” the suit says, according to the News. “This is because consumers prefer to buy products made of ingredients which do not cause detrimental effects on ecosystems like reefs and/or the environment, instead of having those ingredients replaced with others that cause such detrimental effects.”
Wegmans said it is looking into the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation, the News said.
Wegmans, based in Rochester, has over 110 stores along the East Coast.