Roger Denton and Kristine Kraft Appointed to Leadership Counsel for Just for Men Mass Tort Litigation

On July 7, 2016, Honorable Judge David Herndon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, who is presiding over the Just for Men® Mass Tort Litigation, (Case no. 3:16-cv-00638-DRH Master Docket), appointed Schlichter Bogard & Denton attorneys Roger Denton and Kristine Kraft to leadership positions in the litigation (Case no. 3:16-cv-00638-DRH Master Docket – In Re: Just for Men® Mass Tort Litigation, Order). Roger Denton has been appointed as Co-Lead Counsel and Kristine Kraft has been appointed as Liaison Counsel. The Court also appointed attorney Richard Schulte of Wright & Schulte LLC as Co-Lead counsel.  In these roles, Co-Lead Counsel, Denton and Schulte, in addition to Ms. Kraft as Liaison Counsel, are responsible for coordinating the litigation and the cases forward on behalf of all claimants and attorneys.

Hundreds of Just for Men® lawsuits have been filed against its manufacturer, Combe, Inc. and related companies, by men who were injured from chemical burns and other serious reactions, including scarring and loss of skin pigmentation, following use of Just for Men permanent hair dye products. Just for Men is a permanent hair dye product exclusively marketed to men.  The claims in the lawsuits allege that Defendants’ product was not safe, as expected by consumers, and that the packaging material did not adequately warn consumers of the serious reactions to using the product.   In particular, a primary chemical ingredient, p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), in the Just for Men products is allegedly harmful, especially in the dark colored hair dyes of black and jet black, which contains the highest concentrations of PPD.