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On April 10, 2006, B&L temporarily suspended the US shipments of ReNu MoistureLoc produced at its Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A, manufacturing facility. A few days later, on April 13, 2006, B&L voluntarily asked US retailers to temporarily remove ReNu MoistureLoc from their shelves.
It also recommended consumers to switch to other lens care solutions, so as to prevent any confusion among contact lens wearers. B&L stressed the fact that the report of such cases was linked only to the ReNu MoistureLoc manufactured at its Greenville plant and did not apply to any other B&L products - other lens care solutions of ReNu or to the ReNu MoistureLoc made in factories outside the US. |
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In May 2006, B&L announced a worldwide recall of ReNu MoistureLoc. "Bausch & Lomb's top priority is the safety of our customers, and we want them to have complete confidence in our products,"1 said Bausch & Lomb Chairman and CEO Ronald L. Zarrella (Zarella).
Analysts said that B&L's decision to ask retailers in the US to stop selling ReNu MoistureLoc and its worldwide recall could hurt the company's brand name. Moreover, it was likely that the damage would extend beyond its lens care solutions to its other product lines and geographies as well. Michael Weinstein, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.2 , commented, "While Bausch & Lomb is only at this time suspending U.S. ReNu MoistureLoc sales, the spillover effect to the broader ReNu brand could be significant."3
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To add to B&L’s woes, a consumer from New York, Nelson Huie, filed a lawsuit against B&L, alleging that it had engaged in deceptive marketing practices and had failed to disclose to consumers an inherent defect in its product.
The complaint claimed that B&L had been aware of the link between ReNu MoistureLoc and keratitis in Asia as early as February 2006. However, it had suspended sales in the US only in April 2006.
According to the lawsuit, B&L was "unjustly enriched" as it had knowingly jeopardized the health of its customers, without their knowledge.4
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The complaint sought class-action status5 for any person who had purchased the ReNu MoistureLoc solution between September 1, 2004 and April 11, 2006. Later, a woman in Miami filed another lawsuit against B&L blaming ReNu MoistureLoc for the damage caused to her eye. On April 20, 2006, a New York law firm filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that B&L's ReNu MoistureLoc contact lens solution had caused severe eye damage to hundreds of contact lens wearers.
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1] "Fusarium Keratitis and Bausch & Lomb’s Response," www.bausch.com, May 19, 2006.
2] JPMorgan Chase & Co., headquartered in New York City, USA, is a financial holding company and is a leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the US. As of April, 2006, it had US$1.2 trillion in assets, US$106 billion in stockholders’ equity and operations in more than 50 countries.
3] "ReNu Contact Solution Shipments Stopped," www.foxnews.com, April 11, 2006.
4] Chad Bray, "NY Man Sues Bausch & Lomb Over ReNu Contact-lens Solution," www.marketwatch.com, April 13, 2006.
5] A lawsuit brought by one or more plaintiffs on behalf of a large group of others who have a common interest.
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