Top 10 WORST Products that Got Companies SUED
Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 worst products that got companies sued.
#10: Kashi Cereal
The Kellogg's brand has had its fair share of courtroom run-ins, with food packaging wordage usually being the reason for it. That was certainly the case when Kellogg’s was accused of misrepresenting its Kashi cereal, the box of morning goodness that claimed to be “all natural”. While the ingredients used in Kashi cereal could be somewhat traced back to naturally-occuring substances, the amount of synthetic and unnaturally processed ingredients mixed in, kind of made that irrelevant. In fact, the contents of Kashi cereal was described as being closer to that of prescription drugs and federally-classified hazardous substances. A class action lawsuit was filed, and the Kellogg’s brand ended up paying out a huge settlement - but it’s not over, the Kashi courtroom drama still goes on to this day.
#9: Vibram FiveFinger
False fitness-related footwear claims have reared their head numerous times before. New Balance and Sketchers both landed themselves in hot water with claims that their shoes help build muscle and make the wearer lose weight. A similar incident left footwear brand Vibram having to pay out a huge settlement after consumers took issue with their claim that their form-fitting FiveFinger shoes helped strengthen muscles and prevent injury. Although Vibram still denies any wrongdoing with its toe-toning wearables, the brand ultimately ended up settling the class action suit to the tune of around $4 million, and removed any claims that the footwear offered greater fitness and health benefits over regular shoes.
#8: Taco Bell's Beef
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While a Taco Bell sex party more recently made news headlines, we wanted to highlight something else on their menu of controversies. Back in 2011, a customer filed a lawsuit alleging that the beef used in the fast food chain’s tacos shouldn’t actually be referred to as beef, at least not by USDA standards, because it contained more oats, meat fillers and seasoning than actual beef. Taco Bell went on the defensive, rather entertainingly so, claiming the 35 per cent beef claim was incorrect. Ultimately the lawsuit was dismissed, but the series of events that unfolded was a greatest hits list of PR dos and don’ts.
#7: Classmates.com
We’ve all had those emails, right? Joe Bloggs from your old science class is trying to get in touch with you. Well, Classmates.com was a big peddler of such claims back in the early 2000s. And it promised to open up a world of rekindling possibilities if you only subscribed to their “Gold” membership. The problem was, even after a lot of people went gold, they were still nowhere near meeting science class Joe. They also found the website's auto renewal policy a little contentious. After one disgruntled user simply had enough, they filed a lawsuit against the friendship site in 2008, and got them to settle to a $9.5 million payout - $3 for every subscriber hoodwinked by their misleading claims.
#6: Big Tobacco
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The dangers of smoking are known worldwide now, but in the 50s, a lot of the general public went on the word of tobacco brand’s themselves, who very much downplayed the adverse effects of cigarettes. The legendary Big Tobacco lawsuit - which affected some of the largest tobacco brands around - including Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands - was 25 years in the making, and it saw the big brands accused of lying to the American public. Justice prevailed, and in 1998, The Master Settlement Agreement was signed, resulting in huge changes to how cigarettes were advertised and a massive payout of around $200 billion over the course of 25 years.
#5: Lululemon’s Astro Pants
This gym goer gaffe was plastered all over shop windows, social media and news channels everywhere back in 2013, and it saw consumers and shareholders upset with the fact that Lululemon’s Astro Pants were see-through. Yep, people were bending, twisting and repping their humility away because of a poor manufacturing error, and Lululemon investors were not happy. They filed a lawsuit, claiming negligence and fraud of the brand led to costly recalls and huge loss of revenue. The brand has since revamped its designs in order to mitigate any fallout from the ASS-tropants debacle. We can only ASS-ume they’ve done this so future investors will turn the other cheek. Okay, I’m done cracking jokes,
#4: Jetson Rogue Hoverboards
Surprisingly, this lawsuit doesn’t pertain to people falling off these things and injuring themselves, it actually relates to the stand-on people movers catching fire unexpectedly - an incident which resulted in the death of two young girls in a house fire. A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Walmart and Jetson Electric Bikes, with the hoverboard brand recalling over 50,000 models made between 2018 and 2019. The manufacturing issue saw some of the hoverboards burning, melting and catching on fire due to an issue with the on-board battery. As of this video, the case is still ongoing.
#3: Volkswagen’s “Dieselgate”
What happens when you cheat on vehicle emission tests? Just ask Volkswagen. The controversy surrounding so-called dieselgate is legendary, and it saw the Volkswagen brand accused of cheating on its diesel emission standard tests by employing software that reduced emissions when cars were being tested, giving false readings. Governing bodies were outraged, customers were furious, and rival car brands sat back, popcorn in hand to watch the reputation of the car giant take a colossal hit. It can be difficult to pinpoint just how much Volkswagen has paid out, but with millions of vehicle recalls, lawsuit settlements and related expenses, it’s in the high billions, and the costs keep on adding up to this day.
#2: Samsung Galaxy Note 7
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Countless customers have sued Samsung over the past few years relating to issues surrounding their Note 7 smartphone. An issue with the phone’s battery led many devices to overheat and catch on fire, with one incident happening aboard a plane - which subsequently resulted in the smart device being banned by the Department of Transportation. Many consumers sued over damage to personal property, and others due to personal injury. The many lawsuits Samsung got hit with hasn’t slowed the brand down, although it has made us all a bit weary when our phones start to get toasty.
#1: Dow Corning Breast Implants
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The 80s and 90s saw thousands of unhappy customers of Dow Corning breast implants filing lawsuits against the company, claiming that their implants had high rupture rates and various detrimental effects on their health. These health issues included lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and neurological problems as well. The litigation lasted for just over 10 years, coming to an end in 1998, where the company agreed to pay out $3.2 billion in settlements to the roughly 170,000 women affected, with the average payout being between $12,000 to $60,000 per person.
