Lawyers are "seeking class-action status" for a lawsuit that claims Baseball HOFer George Brett "has been falsely advertising necklaces and bracelets as being able to help improve health and sports performance," according to Ryan Foley of the AP. A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Des Moines claims that Washington-based Brett Bros. Sports Int'l "has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus." The lawsuit stated that the company "has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain." It added that the claims appeared on the company's website from '08-10, and "still appear on the packaging of the products and on the websites of its distributors." Brett has been president of the company since '01 and "appears in its advertisements" (AP, 2/7). In K.C., Mark Morris notes the lawsuit "makes no allegation that the necklace physically injured" the plaintiff. The lawsuit "wants the company to stop misrepresenting its products, provide a full accounting of profits from those products, and give all the profits back to the buyers." Brett Bros.' website yesterday "continued to sell the necklaces but claimed only that they were 'stylish, soft and comfortable.'" Morris notes a "swarm of similar lawsuits last year helped drive a Brett Bros. competitor, Power Balance, into bankruptcy" (K.C. STAR, 2/8).
