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February 7, 2012 in Sports, City
Brett company sued over jewelry ads
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Lawyers are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit that claims Hall of Fame slugger George Brett has been falsely advertising necklaces and bracelets as being able to help improve health and sports performance.
A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Des Moines claims Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Brett Bros. Sports International Inc. has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus. The company has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain, the lawsuit said.
Brett, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1999 after a 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals, has been president of the company since 2001 and appears in its advertisements.
The claims appeared on the company’s website from 2008 to 2010, and still appear on the packaging of the products and on the websites of its distributors, according to the lawsuit.
“Most consumers, when reading these claims, and seeing the products endorsed by a high-profile baseball player, assume that these products have the health benefits that are marketed and advertised and that scientifically significant research supports statements made by Brett Bros., when in fact that is not the case,” reads the lawsuit, which alleges the company has violated the state Consumer Frauds Act and been unjustly enriched.
The lawsuit says an Iowa man, Seth Thompson of Adel, bought one of the necklaces for $30 at the College World Series in Omaha last year after reading Brett’s endorsement of them. He hoped the product would reduce stress and fatigue and boost his energy and concentration, but none of those benefits were realized, rendering the product “useless to him,” the lawsuit says.
His lawyers, who include Bart Goplerud of West Des Moines and two from firms in Los Angeles, are asking a federal judge to approve a class-action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of customers who have bought the products in the last four years. Total damages “are likely in the millions of dollars,” the lawsuit says.
A representative of Brett Bros., which also sells baseball accessories such as bats and baseballs, did not return an inquiry seeking comment.
Brett, 58, retired from baseball in 1993 after accumulating 3,154 hits and 317 home runs, winning three batting titles and making 13 All-Star teams.
© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Al_Loysius on February 07 at 4:42 p.m.
Hey George, everybody knows that pyramid crystals are the real secret cure !
RedCedar on February 07 at 5:11 p.m.
Good. I hope they also go after those cheezy rubber “ionic energy balancing” bracelets with the hologram that’s supposed to optimize your bodies frequencies. It seems like the best way to sell the modern version of snake oil without the FDA or CPSC getting after you is to use as much pseudo-scientific gobbledygook as possible without ever actually coming out and claiming that it will do anything. And maybe they could also shut down the gas-saver magnets. I don’t see how the government can claim to be regulating false advertising at all, when they’ve been allowing gas saver magnets to sold for about 20 years now.
liveinfearoftheSPD on February 07 at 5:57 p.m.
Brings to mind the old saying:
“A fool and his money ….”
greenlibertarian on February 07 at 6:50 p.m.
What, a business can’t rely on the placebo effect anymore?
catfuzz on February 07 at 8:15 p.m.
If you’re dumb enough to buy one of these things, you don’t deserve to sue anyone.
PROFINTOX on February 07 at 8:23 p.m.
catfuzz — amen to that.
silverlake89 on February 07 at 8:53 p.m.
As long as organized religions can take your money I don’t see why this guy cant
zelda on February 07 at 9:58 p.m.
Big money in ghost-hunting equipment, too. Dirty lenses and dust motes = spirit orbs! Crank up the audio equipment all the way and turn all those electronic artifact “noises” into spook voices from beyond the grave. There’s a sucker born every minute.
Last time I looked it seemed like most of the MLB players were wearing some sort of superstitious magic necklace on the playing fields. If you can’t win with talent or drugs, try voodoo.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 07 at 10:25 p.m.
I wonder what he’s thinking. They must have millions already. Dignity please! Very well place OC family…