Jillian Michaels Sued for False Advertising in Connection with Diet Pill Endorsement

Jillian Michaels of “The Biggest Loser” fame has been hit with a class action suit in connection with a diet drug she endorses. The suit alleges that her Maximum Strength Calorie Control dietary supplement is “worthless.” You can read the complaint here courtesy of E! Online.

The suit alleges that Michaels et al. engaged in false advertising and thereby violated two of California’s tough consumer protection statutes, the Unfair Competition Act and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Remedies available under these statutes are what we might term ‘”the whole nine yards,” including injunctive relief, actual damages, restitution, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.

According to the complaint, the contested statements include “Two Capsules Before Main Meals and You Lose Weight. That’s It.” As you can see to the left, that phrase is right on the front of the box. The lettering on the rest of the box is too small to read in this image, but Michaels’s website further indicates that the pills should be used “in conjunction with any sensible diet and exercise program,” a detail which doesn’t appear to be mentioned in the complaint.

The Calorie Control FAQ on her website muddies the waters somewhat, stating, “[a]lthough the subjects in a scientific study who took the active compound contained in the Jillian Michaels Calorie Control product lost weight without diet and exercise, the Jillian Michaels Calorie Control should be used in conjunction with any sensible diet and exercise program.” That statement implies that the pills do work without diet or exercise. How many subjects took part in the study in question? Only twenty-four. Additionally, there’s no mention of how much weight the subjects lost.

The deciding factors in Michaels’s suit will probably be the scientific validity of the aforementioned study and the degree to which its data supports the advertising claims in question. In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission settled with a number of diet pill manufacturers, including the makers of the heavily advertised TrimSpa and Xenadrine EFX, for false and misleading advertising. In the case of Xenadrine EFX, the pill’s manufacturer, Robert Chinery, Jr., had completed a study which demonstrated that subjects lost weight after taking the pill. As it turns out, however, the subjects only lost an average of one and a half pounds over ten weeks, and actually lost less weight than those in a control group taking a placebo. The FTC was not mollified, and Chinery ultimately paid over $8 million to settle the claims.

Ironically, Michaels’s father is reportedly a personal injury attorney.

This is not the first suit filed in connection with Michaels’ endorsements. At least two others are also pending.

Michaels aside, the show has encountered relatively few public legal problems. After the New York Times detailed the rather brutal caloric restriction and exercise regimen to which the show’s contestants are subjected, the Hollywood Reporter’s excellent legal blog THR, Esq. asked in November, “Who Will Be The First to Sue ‘The Biggest Loser’?” The answer so far appears to be “no one” — the article notes that “Biggest Loser” contestants sign releases. However, former “Biggest Loser” contestant Matt Hoover has been sued for allegedly being a lousy personal trainer. Who’d have guessed?