Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: Children’s speech disorder supplement distributor settles misrepresentation claims, (Jan 9, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

NourishLife, LLC, an Illinois company that markets and sells the dietary supplement Speak, has settled FTC claims that the company and its president violated the FTC Act by falsely advertising the supplement’s efficacy. The company and president are required to pay $200,000 to the Commission (FTC v. NourishLife, LLC, File No. 132 3152, Case No. 15-cv-93).

According to the FTC’s complaint, Speak is a dietary supplement that contains Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and other ingredients. Defendants NourishLife, LLC and company president, Mark Nottoli, acquired the rights to Speak in 2008. The Commission alleges that the defendants violated the FTC Act by making false and misleading representations that: (1) Speak causes children to develop and maintain normal, healthy speech and language capacity, including children who have apraxia and autism spectrum disorders; (2) Speak treats or mitigates verbal apraxia and communication and behavioral deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders; and (3) children who use Speak are likely to obtain rapid and significant speech, language, and other behavioral improvements.

In addition, the FTC alleged that the defendants: (1) falsely represented that Speak is clinically proven to develop and maintain normal, healthy speech and language capacity in children with apraxia and autism spectrum disorders; (2) misrepresented an Apraxia Research website as an independent, objective resource for research and other scientific information regarding the treatment of apraxia and Omega-3 fatty acid and Vitamin E supplementation; and (3) failed to disclose material connections with endorsers appearing in Speak advertisements.

“Parents of children with speech disorders need accurate information about products that may be able to help,” stated FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich. “This company took advantage of parents’ trust.”

The proposed consent order prohibits the defendants from making any representation that: a product will develop or maintain normal, healthy speech or language capacity in children; a product will treat or mitigate any communication or behavioral deficits in children who have autism spectrum disorders; or consumers can generally expect that children who use such a product will obtain the speech, language, and other behavioral improvements represented by an endorser of such product, unless the representation is non-misleading and the defendants possess and rely on competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate their claims.

The order also prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting that any website or other publication is an independent, objective resource for research or other scientific information, and the defendants must disclose to consumers any material connection between an individual providing an endorsement and defendants or any other person manufacturing, advertising, labeling, or distributing that product. A monetary judgment has been entered against the defendants in the amount of $3.678 million, but will be suspended upon the payment of $200,000.

Companies: NourishLife, LLC

News: Advertising ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews