The earlier ruling by Judge John W. Kessler would have allowed the plaintiffs to potentially include thousands of additional individuals who purchased herbal supplements known as Enzyte for men and Avlimil for women.
Plaintiffs claim that the pills, marketed by Berkeley Premium as 100 percent safe, herbal supplements that could increase penis size by 1-3 inches and increase female libido, were part of a nationwide attempt by the company to deceive consumers with "consistent misrepresentations" as to the real effects of the pills.
Berkeley Premium also offered no third-party independent clinical trials to support its massive promotion and cross media campaign, which included 30-day free trials, national television ads, radio and magazine advertisements, as well as campaigns for the Internet and major sporting events.
Plaintiffs had originally sought class-action status on the lawsuit based on the argument that the case "involves a common scheme across the entire class perpetrated by similar misrepresentations of efficacy and material omissions." The judge ruled at the time that "when common fraud is perpetuated on a group of plaintiffs, those plaintiffs should be able to pursue the claim without focusing on questions affecting individual members."
Enzyte contains an ingredient known as Yohimbe, which the FDA has warned could conflict if taken with certain foods. The FDA also has warned diabetics about the potential adverse effects of Yohimbe.
In a similar case, in Denver, U.S. District Judge Phillip S. Figa conditionally granted class certification earlier to a case against a Canadian firm that sells enlargement products under the VigRx brand name. The potential class could number more than 400,000 consumers.
