No one knew if coronavirus cases would explode. “We assert that Lorna Jane`s statements gave the impression that the COVID-19 allegations were based on scientific or technological evidence when they were not,” Court said. The information provided is not intended to provide a comprehensive overview of all developments in law and practice or to cover all aspects of these aspects. Readers should seek legal advice before applying it to a particular issue or transaction. The lawsuit suggests that regulators continue to deal with those profiting from the current COVID-19 crisis, and also that judges will vigorously condemn such behavior – the court called Lorna Jane`s behavior “exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous” and set her sentence with that in mind. Nevertheless, the penalty should not be considered a maximum amount for similar behaviour – there were mitigating circumstances since the ACCC did not claim that Lorna Jane knew her allegations were false, and there was no evidence that Lorna Jane benefited from her behaviour or actually caused harm to consumers. In future cases, harsher penalties may be imposed. The lawsuit was filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after Lorna Jane began marketing the garments last July during the Covid pandemic. “Lorna Jane falsely advertised her LJ Shield sportswear as eliminating or protecting against COVID amid a growing number of COVID-19 cases in Australia,” said Rod Sims, ACCC President. In July 2020, Lorna Jane claimed that her “anti-virus clothing,” sprayed with a substance called “LJ Shield,” eliminated and stopped the spread of COVID-19 and provided protection against viruses and pathogens, including COVID-19, when it didn`t. In December, the Autorité de la concurrence prosecuted Lorna Jane and named Ms. Clarkson in the case. Sign up to receive the latest legal developments, ideas and news from Ashurst.
By registering, you agree to receive marketing messages from us. You can unsubscribe at any time. “This year, the ACCC has prioritized consumer and competition issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we will continue to closely address allegations that seek to exploit the crisis through illegal behaviour to improve their business position or harm consumers,” said Court. He says: “This type of advertising could have detrimental consequences for the Australian community, create a false sense of safety and make people less vigilant about hygiene and social distancing.” In addition to the fine, Lorna Jane was asked to issue notices of correction. The company had previously been fined A$40,000 by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration for the same allegations. The judge, according to the ACCC, described the behaviour as “exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous.” Lorna Jane Pty Ltd admitted that between 2 and 23 July 2020, she falsely told consumers that her LJ Shield sportswear had “eliminated”, “stopped the spread” and “protected wearers” from “viruses, including COVID-19”. Misleading representations were made on in-store signage, website, Instagram, consumer emails and press releases. Lorna Jane claimed that the substance, marketed as “Lorna Jane Shield” when sprayed on her sportswear fabric, would eliminate viruses, including COVID-19, if they came into contact with the fabric, and protect the wearer from infection or spread of these dangerous viruses, including COVID-19. He described the technology as “revolutionary” and claimed that the substance permanently adheres to clothing, making it impossible to transmit pathogens, including COVID-19, to clothing and eliminating viruses on contact. While most ads were removed in July 2020, the ACCC said some Lorna Jane clothing labels still contained antivirus messages until at least November 2020. “A trusted vendor sold us a product that didn`t work as promised,” said Bill Clarkson, CEO of Lorna Jane, who is married to the founder. “They led us to believe that the technology behind LJ Shield was sold elsewhere in Australia, the US, China and Taiwan, and that it was both antibacterial and antiviral.
We thought we were passing on an advantage to our customers. The attached document contains the ACCC`s introductory document in this case. We will not upload any further documents if this original document is subsequently modified. “The $5 million fines imposed by the court underscore the seriousness of Lorna Jane`s behavior, which the judge called `exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous,`” Sims said. During a global pandemic, such claims might otherwise be welcome, but only if they are true. In the end, Lorna Jane admitted that she had no reasonable scientific or technological basis for her claims. At the time, the company vowed to defend itself in court, saying it was “extremely disappointed” that regulators had questioned the allegations, ABC reported. But in a statement on Friday, Australian regulators said the company had admitted that Clarkson had endorsed the LJ Shield ads and was involved in both writing the copy and developing the images that would accompany them.
On December 21, 2020, the ACCC commenced proceedings against Lorna Jane Pty Ltd. for false and misleading allegations and against Lorna Jane Clarkson for allegedly knowingly participating in the conduct. The court found that Lorna Jane violated the ACL for the following reasons: Lorna Jane is a well-known women`s sportswear company founded in 1990 by director Lorna Jane Clarkson. SYDNEY, July 23 (Reuters) – Athleisure clothing chain Lorna Jane Pty Ltd was fined A$5 million ($3.7 million) by an Australian court on Friday after saying its clothes could prevent COVID-19, which one judge called “exploitative, predatory and potentially dangerous”. “The only thing that is `stopped` by the `shield particles` is the money in your bank account,” he added.
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