Washington State Zicam Class Action Fails Certification Test

SPOKANE, Wash. - A judge has denied class certification for a group of Zicam users who claimed that their use of the homeopathic cold remedy caused them to lose their sense of taste and smell. Ballew v. Matrixx Initiatives Inc., No. 07-267 (E.D. Wash.).

Judge Robert H. Whaley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington held Oct. 31 that the putative class failed to accomplish three of the four requirements for class certification under Rule 23.

According to Whaley, too many individual issues predominate among members to certify a class based on the question of whether …