Judge Dismisses PFAS Lawsuit Against The Children’s Place
Months after being named in a class-action lawsuit alleging the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in children’s apparel, The Children’s Place scored a victory yesterday with a judge ruling to dismiss the complaint.
The suit, which The Children’s Place called “reckless” when it asked a federal judge to sanction lawyers involved in October, was initially filed in July on behalf of Chicago mother Angala Garland. Garland alleged that The Children’s Place knowingly hid the presence of PFAS in its school uniforms and other products.
More from Sourcing Journal
Judge Dismisses Yellow's Breach of Contract Lawsuit Against the Teamsters
Chanel Seeks Injunction Against What Goes Around Comes Around
In the memorandum opinion and order filed on April 1, Chicago-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said that it’s “at least plausible” that uniforms purchased by Garland and co-plaintiff Joelis Saldana could contain PFAS. But Kennelly ultimately ruled that the plaintiffs have not shown The Children’s Place deceived or misled customers to believe their apparel was PFAS-free.
Commonly known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment and even the human body, PFAS are a class of compounds used in a variety of products to provide water- and stain-repellency. Some PFAS have been identified as toxic, linking them to cancer and other conditions. In recent years, there’s been increasing awareness of and a push to remove PFAS from clothing, home textiles and other fabrics that come into contact with people.
In October, The Children’s Place said Garland purchased at least 21 clothing items from its stores, but only two of those pieces were tested for PFAS. Of the two, one tested negative for PFAS while the other tested positive for trace levels of one PFAS chemical. The testing lab flagged that result as unreliable on several bases.
Saldana, who resides in Florida, sent 13 school uniform items from The Children’s Place for third-party PFAS testing. She alleged all 13 tested positive for total fluorine (Total-F), which is not a PFAS. However, the plaintiffs said Total-F is an “indicator” of the presence of PFAS.
In their suit, the plaintiffs asserted that The Children’s Place “knew or should have known of the presence of PFAS in its school uniforms, and the dangers associated with PFAS,” and that the retailer’s failure to disclose the presence of the chemicals in advertising and on its website amounted to “concealment” and “deceptive representations.”
Kennelly ruled that based on the available evidence, “the Court cannot see how TCP’s nondisclosure ‘creates a likelihood of deception or has the capacity to deceive’ under these circumstances.” He went on to say, “Based on the context and available information as pleaded in the complaint, the Court concludes the plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that TCP’s silence regarding the presence of PFAS in its clothing deceives consumers into believing its school uniform products are PFAS-free.”
“We are pleased with The Court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint, reinforcing our position that the claims were based on a highly flawed argument,” a spokesperson from The Children’s Place said in a statement.
The ruling comes less than a month after Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based Mithaq Capital SPC announced its plans to provide the children’s retailer with a $78.6 million interest-free, unsecured and subordinated term loan to strengthen its liquidity. According to Mithaq chairman and CEO Turki Saleh A. AlRajhi, the cash infusion will allow the retailer to “deliver products during the critical back-to-school season.”
