In a recent lawsuit against WEN, Federal Judge James Robert has ordered Amazon to provide a list of customers who bought WEN hair-care products from them to assist in the class-action lawsuit where many consumers documented hair loss and other hair-related problems after using the product.
The WEN-lawsuit is believed to involve over 200 women from 40 different states in the U.S. and we are investigating issues here in the U.K. too. According to the lawsuit, the women claim that:
“WEN products can cause severe and possibly permanent damage to hair, including significant hair loss to the point of visible bald spots, hair breakage, scalp irritation and rash.”
Calls for Amazon’s assistance
As Amazon is an online retailer who sells WEN products, the lawsuit demanded that Amazon provide lawyers with a list of customers who bought WEN products and what type of products they purchased.
Lawyers for the lawsuit wanted to notify all consumers of the settlement, and so wanted to get the consumers’ names and contact information from Amazon. Among all the relevant retailers, which included QVC, Sephora and Overstock, Amazon was the only one who refused to provide the information, arguing consumer privacy.
Amazon’s consumer privacy conundrum
Amazon prides itself on maintaining their consumer privacy. The retailer said that customer privacy and security of their confidential information is no joke.
In November, Amazon filed for the lawyer’s motion to be quashed. They argued that providing information would cause more harm than good to their consumers, “who have no ability to defend their own privacy interests or make their wishes known”. The retailing giants said that giving their consumers’ private information away would outweigh any benefits to the individuals claiming against WEN.
They continue to say that the demand is “doubly intrusive because it forces Amazon to violate its customers’ trust, and it invades those customers’ privacy without notice”. Amazon did, however, recognise that consumers would probably want to be notified about compensation resulting from a class-action settlement; but they emphasised that it wasn’t for the courts or lawyers to decide.
Federal judge orders information to be released from Amazon
Therefore, a conflicting issue was placed before Seattle’s federal judge. The issue was whether keeping data private or providing knowledge that could assist consumers that may have been badly affected from the hair-care product was more important. The federal judge opted for the latter.
The federal judge gave assurances that by providing the information, it still complies with Amazon’s consumer privacy policy. Judge Robert explains why:
- The information is lawfully compelled by a writ.
- The information will be used and processed in accordance with the law: to notify customers of the lawsuit and not for commercial or marketing purposes.
The aim of retrieving the information is to provide notice that is tailored specifically to individuals who have “sustained serious injuries”. While Amazon is still adamant that the information is unnecessary, lawyers for the lawsuit argue that “the damages claimed by users of WEN hair-care products are substantial, highlighting the need for a robust notice program”.
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