International Law

It seems that a number of Chinese families are looking to launch a class action lawsuit related to shampoo. From ConsumerAffairs.com:

Eighty families have already organized in anticipation of the suit, and lawyers don?t plan to stop there. Cui Baoyu, one of the attorneys involved, said that the group was pursuing a class action ?because of the huge number of victims involved.? More than 50 attorneys are already involved in the case, and Cui says that ?the group continues expanding as more lawyers from all over the country ask to join every day.?

A few days ago, I reported on a recall in China of U.S.-made shampoo products, followed by a ?never mind.? Now, it looks as though China is moving forward. Again, for those who might be interested, my book which was just published deals in part with China?s soap and shampoo market.

As I’ve been saying to my foreign clients for ten years now: don’t believe anyone who tells you that China is not a litigious nation at heart.

Without knowing any details at this early stage, I will say that if I was the plaintiffs’ attorney, I would much rather bring this suit in the U.S. as opposed to China (if possible). Lots of reasons for this, but I wanted to emphasize that you’ve got a bunch of babies with allergic reactions and possible exposure to carcinogens — that’s the worst-case scenario. I haven’t heard about any babies dying, being disfigured, etc.

China’s judicial system is really not equipped to assess damages for exposure to carcinogens. Additionally, what kind of damages are you going to get for allergic reactions which, I assume, are basically skin rashes? Remember, China does not have a jury system, so no chance to parade babies/baby photos in front of a bunch of concerned citizens.

Loser case. I’ll pass on the opportunity to comment on the nationalism aspects of all this, which will just raise my blood pressure.