Our Life's Journey

Mead Johnson, Maker of Enfamil, Loses Multi-Million Dollar False Advertising Case Against Store-Bran

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:26:00 +0000

This is a sponsored guest post written by a Press Release on behalf of PBM Products. Post powered by Sponzai.

GORDONSVILLE, VA., December 2 , 2009—PBM Products, LLC, a leading infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to Walmart, Sam's Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, and other retailers, has received a favorable jury verdict and a $13.5 million damages award in its false advertising lawsuit against Mead Johnson & Co., the operating subsidiary of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) (“Mead Johnson”), the makers of the national-brand Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula. Mead Johnson is 83 percent-owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

PBM’s lawsuit claimed that Mead Johnson engaged in false and misleading campaigns against PBM’s competing store-brand of infant formulas, suggesting they do not provide the same nutrition as Mead Johnson’s brands. PBM’s store-brand infant formulas cost up to 50 percent less than Enfamil® LIPIL®. The $13.5 million in damages awarded by the jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is one of the largest damages awards ever for a false advertising case.

“This decision by a jury of the people confirms that Mead Johnson’s ads have been false in suggesting that there is a nutritional difference between our store-brand formula products and their products, when in fact the only major difference is price,” said PBM CEO Paul B. Manning. “Despite Mead Johnson’s scare tactics, parents are assured that PBM’s formula products are as high quality and nutritious as Mead Johnson’s.”

U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer issued his written rulings yesterday following the November 10^th jury verdict. Judge Spencer’s written rulings permanently enjoined Mead Johnson from making any false statements concerning PBM's infant formula, including the claims Mead Johnson previously made in Enfamil advertising that "It may be tempting to try a less expensive store brand, but only Enfamil LIPIL is clinically proven to improve brain and eye development," and "there are plenty of other ways to save on baby expenses without cutting back on nutrition." The Court also ordered Mead Johnson to retrieve from the public domain all advertising or promotional materials containing these or any other false claims about PBM's store brand infant formula.

The details of the decision and the complaint are posted online in full at:

· http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/Order_Laches.pdf

· http://www.pbmproducts.com/docs/PBM_Complaint_MJ_III_LIPIL.pdf

The nutritional supplements under examination in the case are two fats, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid), which Mead Johnson calls “LIPIL®” solely for marketing purposes and touts as promoting infant brain and eye development. PBM’s claim focused on Mead Johnson’s direct mailing to more than 1.6 million parents of an alarming blurry picture of a child’s cartoon duck next to a clear picture of the same image which suggested that anything other than the Enfamil LIPIL® blend of ingredients is inferior and will result in poor eye and brain development. Other parts of the false advertising campaign consist of statements that only Enfamil LIPIL has been proven to confer visual and mental benefits on infants, and store-brand formulas are a “cut-back in nutrition” compared to Enfamil.

PBM successfully argued that these advertisements were false and misleading especially since PBM store- brand infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil. PBM infant formulas are formulated to contain DHA and ARA, and are sourced from the same supplier in amounts which equal or exceed the DHA and ARA in Mead Johnson’s Enfamil LIPIL®.

This decision marks the third time PBM Products has sued Mead Johnson for false advertising claims. On the prior occasions Mead Johnson admitted that it made false claims about PBM’s products. It is also the first false advertising case to focus on the issue of DHA and ARA nutritional ingredients in formula, which were introduced into the market in 2003 and have become a staple in recent years by many brands as key components for infant development.

“This jury verdict should send a significant and clear message to Mead Johnson about the way it conducts marketing and advertising for its brands,” said Manning. “This lawsuit also demonstrates our complete commitment to defending our products and the valuable brands of our retail partners.”

“As a parent and supporter of children’s medical research, I take a personal responsibility in assuring our customers that the products we produce are healthy and nutritionally equivalent to brand names like Enfamil® LIPIL®. It is important, especially now, for parents to know that there are lower priced yet highly nutritious store-brand formulas that will provide the same benefit to their children as any national brand name formula product,” Manning added.

The U.S. infant formula market is estimated at $3.4 billion and the global market is estimated at $7.9 billion.

All of PBM’s formulas, and for that matter all of U.S. infant formulas, are subject to the exacting standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980. This legislation vested FDA with the authority to ensure that all infant formula products sold in the United States provide the necessary levels of identified nutrients required for the growth of healthy babies. For more information, visit this FDA link.

PBM Products was represented by the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP. Partners from the firm’s advertising practice, Harold P. Weinberger and Jonathan M. Wagner in New York, led the team.

About PBM

PBM is privately owned and based in Gordonsville, VA. PBM companies specialize in manufacturing, distributing, and marketing consumer food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical products. For more information, visit www.pbmproducts.com.

Enfamil® LIPIL® are registered trademarks of Mead Johnson & Co.

Going to New Orleans

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:52:00 +0000

My husband is going to New Orleans again this coming Wednesday Feb. 3,4 and 5. He is going to stay there for 3 days and come back home on 6. We are planning to attend to Nel's party on Saturday and I hope he is not gonna be tired when he gets home.

Son is sick!

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:07:00 +0000

My baby Joey is sick since yesterday. He had fever it was 102F and it went down when I gave him medicine. Today he is playing and playing so I guess he is feeling better. He have a little runny nose. I am hoping Jodel and Jolaine won't get it.

Baby rashes

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:14:00 +0000

I am a little bit worried about my baby's face right now because she have rashes on her face. I don't know what it is and I am hoping that it will go away. I think it is normal for babies or newborn to have rashes on their face and neck I am just hoping that it will go away soon! I tried to put vaseline or lotion on it but it doesn't seem that it's working so for now I'll just leave it alone and we'll see if it'll go away.

Doctor's Check up

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:10:00 +0000

I am going to go to my doctor this afternoon for a check up. It has been a month since I had the d&c done. I am doing really good I don't have any problem since then. Baby is doing pretty good. Mom will take me to the doctor and I am so glad my Mother-in-law is really nice to me. She is been helping me a lot.

Found my old friend at FB

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:03:00 +0000

I feel so happy yesterday because I found my old friend at facebook. Actually this person found me there and I am just so glad to talk to him after so many years past by we don't have communication and now we found each other again at FB. Wow, FB is really good. Well, this guy was my neighbor and my classmate when I was high school. It is just so cool that you found your old friends on the Internet that's all LOL.

Jolaine

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Look at Jolaine she sounds asleep on the picture. She just always sleep. She is a very good baby. Love her so much..

One month Old

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:16:00 +0000

Jolaine is one month old now yey, She is growing!!!! SO happy to have her...and we are so blessed..

Jodel and Joey is always giving her a kiss like million times everyday haha..So glad they are so happy to have a new little sister. So cute..

Photo below - Jolaine one week old.

Second visit

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:57:00 +0000

November 17 Tuesday at 10:30 Am we went to Jolaine's doctor for two weeks check up. She weight 8.14 lbs. After the check up we went to the hospital to had her PKU done. Next doctor visit is on January 5, 2010 next year for two months check up.

Dilation and curettage

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Novemeber 9,2009 Monday morning I was bleeding like crazy. We went to my doctor to see if what's going on. She told me that there were blood stuck inside of my stomach and so they brought me to the hospital and had a DandC (Dilation and curettage) done. Well, I was glad they did it because after the D and C I felt better. It scared me a little bit because I thought I was going to ran out of blood.

Jolaine's first visit on her doctor

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:30:00 +0000

November 4,2009 Wednesday we went to Jolaine's doctor for a check up. Everything is doing good on her. She weight 7.8 lbs. I thought she was going to have the shots hepa but the doctor is going to give her the shots when she is going to be 2months old. She is very healthy baby.

When I gave birth

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Thursday night October 30, 2009 at 12:30 Am I woke up, I went to the bathroom and saw that I was bleeding a little bit. I was having a mild contractions. I got up and went the bathroom like every hour and then went back to bed. I slept on and off until 5Am arrived. I was confused at that time if I was going to have the baby or not. At 5:45 Am Joel's alarm clock rang. And I was so happy to hear about the alarm so he'll wake up. I don't want to wake up him while he was sleeping so he don't worry about me ( you know my husband he can't sleep much if somethings bothering me).

Anyway, I told him about that I might going to have the baby. He got a little nervous and called his parents. He told Mom to go to our house. I wasn't really sure though if I am going to have the baby or not but the contractions was like 5-10 minutes apart plus I was bleeding so hubby was really sure that the baby wants to get out.

Well, at 8Am we ate couple of donuts and milk for breakfast and then we went straight to the hospital. The nurse check on me and I was dilated for 5cm. They brought me to the delivery room right away. At 10:30 Am they gave me and Epidural I didn't really expect that they gave me the epidural so fast.

Anyway, after the epidural I felt like I wanted to sleep, I got so sleepy but I didn't sleep. At 11:30 my water broke and found out the that baby made pop inside at 12:45 I started pushing. At 1:04 in the afternoon the baby came. Was so happy and it was extremly fast I didn't even push so hard. I didn't feel anything, I didn't feel the pain because of the epidural. And I was so thankful for the epidural. The baby was 7.7 and 19 inches long. Lots of hair!!! I don't have any cuts which is very good.

We went to the hospital friday morning and came back Monday morning. The baby was very healthy and I am so glad.

Welcome to the world Jolaine..

Grilling

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:43:00 +0000

My husband is cooking hehehe. He is grilling chicken, bratwurst and sausage. I love bratwurst it's delicious yummy. Even though it's cold outside he is still cooking out there. Well, can't wait for it to be done I need to cook something to eat with it.

Back

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:48:00 +0000

I have my third baby on October 30, that's why I was pretty busy lately. Now, I am back on a blogging world and I am hoping for the big opps hehe..
Have a good day everyone!!!

Love the weather

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Yesterday it rain so hard here in our place and it feels so good this morning it is a little bit cold outside. I love this weather. Winter is here already and I just don't like it when it's freezing cold lol.

Anyway, this morning I had fun watching the shaggy dog movie it was really hilarious. I thought the kids would watch it but they didn't so I watched the movie myself.

Search your lost friends and family at My Life

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:32:00 +0000

I sometimes wonder if there are people out there searching for me online. I also wonder if my old friends and family are looking for me.

I have lots of old friends and family that I don't know where they are in this world. I am hoping that someday we could see each other again or maybe at least we could have a communication online. I always look up their names on the Internet but it won't show up on goggle or somewhere else. I have joined some of the popular networking sites but I still couldn't find them there. Where could I find them? I am hoping that someone could help me find my old friends and family.

In my mind, there’s got to be something, a special tool to find our lost love ones all in one place. I know there are thousands of networking sites out there and it’s hard to find them. There’s got to be one site that search people in one place.

Well, I have good news to every one. Today I found this website called MyLife from where you can find everyone all in one place and can tell you who is searching you online. This is good news to all people out there that are longing to find their lost friends and love ones. This is a very good website and a very useful tool so we could find our lost friends and family and so we can keep in touch with them.

You guys can check out their website at mylife.com and find all your lost friends and love ones all in one place. They are America's no.1 people search! They are going to help you find your old friends, old classmates, and family all in one place. Really cool isn’t?

My life's mission is to provide the most comprehensive people search service to help you easily find and stay connected with friends, family, loved ones and colleagues. Check it out today and I am pretty sure that you could find your lost friends and family at their website.

Unexpected problems

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Yesterday we had a bad news and I can't tell you what it is about. It is too personal and I am hoping that this big problem we have right now will be solve soon. This is just so unexpected for us. I hope and pray that God will help us fix this problem we have at this time. I know that everything will be okay. Life sometimes is very complicated!

Snow flakes

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:23:00 +0000

I was lying down on the bed and all of the sudden I saw snow flakes on the window falling down to the ground. It was really beautiful and I love it. It was really a good dream :) I don't know why I was dreaming about a snow. It maybe because I want to see snow again this winter.

Favorite Resort

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:45:00 +0000

When my husband went to Bohol Philippines to meet me in person we first stay at Dumaluan beach resort. We always love to go to this resort because we have lots of memories on this place lol. Next year when we go back home I am hoping to stay on this resort again. We have stay in Bohol Tropics, Alona beach resort and panglao. We really love it there and I can't wait to go back home again.

Home Alone!

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:20:00 +0000

Hubby and my kids went to my in-laws house. I didn't go with them I just want to stay here in our house so I could have a free time. Sometimes we need a break. So I am here alone. I miss them though but they'll be here tomorrow afternoon.

Hubby just have an important meeting to his Dad and his brother about their business.
Please visit our furniture business website @ www.stoutcarpentry.com

Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:27:00 +0000

My husband is always so busy at his work and on his business. We are plannng to go to a birthday party this weekend but I don't he could go with us. He even forgot it lol. Well, I understand him and that's okay for me. I guess I am going to go to my friend's b-day party with kids. I would really enjoy it if he is with us.

My daughter's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:35:00 +0000

Today is my daughter's birthday. She is 3 years old already and I can't believe it. Time is so fast. We just had a small birthday party today for her and she really enjoy the cake, ice cream and the gifts.

I don't have a big party for her, the most important thing we did was to let her know that we love her so much and we are so glad that our little baby is starting to be a big girl. She is really a sweet little girl and I am so thankful to God because of her and my son. They brought so much joy to us!

At the woodlands with friends

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:31:00 +0000

We went to eat out at the woodlands house this evening with friends because tomorrow is Jodel's birthday. I am lazy to cook so I asked my friends if we could just go out and eat and so we did. We had fun!!!

Tomorrow is her birthday and we are planning to have a small party for her just us her family.

Custom made kitchen and cabinets

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:51:00 +0000

If you guys looking for a custom made kitchen and cabinet furnitures? Just check out www.stoutcarpentry.com and contact them. My husband and his Dad owned it. They customized kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets and etc. So guys please don't hesitate to contact them today!

Worried

noreply@blogger.com (Madel) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:36:00 +0000

I feel so bad to all the people in the Philippines because of the typhoon. I hope and pray that God will bless them and protect them from danger. I feel so bad to my families who live in Manila. I hope that they are safe! Am so worried about their situation and I hope that they'll survive the flood and the sickness spreading all over in Manila.