Deliotte v. L'Oreal USA, Inc.

2025 NY Slip Op 32773(U)
New York Supreme Court, New York County·Decided August 12, 2025·No. Index No. 156144/2024·Unpublished

Opinion

Deliotte v L'Oreal USA, Inc.

2025 NY Slip Op 32773(U)

August 12, 2025

Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 156144/2024 Judge: Mary V. Rosado

Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication.

[FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 08/13/2025 02:34 P~ INDEX NO. 156144/2024 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 268 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 08/13/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY

PRESENT: HON. MARY V. ROSADO PART 33M Justice

------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 156144/2024 NATHAN DELIOTTE, Individually and as Administrator of MOTION DATE 05/06/2025 the ESTATE OF GLORIA DELI OTTE, Deceased

Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 021 - V -

L'OREAL USA, INC.,L'OREAL USA PRODUCTS, INC.,SOFT SHEEN-CARSON, LLC,STRENGTH OF NATURE, LLC,GODREJ SON HOLDINGS, INC.,LUSTER PRODUCTS COMPANY, NAMASTE LABORATORIES, LLC D/B/A ORGANIC ROOT STIMULATOR, BEAUTY BELL DECISION + ORDER ON ENTERPRISE D/B/A HOUSE OF CHEATHAM, INC. AND MOTION HOUSE OF CHEATHAM LLC,HOUSE OF CHEATHAM, LLC,BEAUTY KINGDOM USA CORP., BEAUTY PLUS BEAUTY SUPPLY STORE INC.,WOW BEAUTY SUPPLY INC.

Defendants.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 021) 222, 223, 224, 225, 226,227,243,244,245,246 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS

Upon the foregoing documents, and after a final submission date of June 3, 2025, Beauty Bell Enterprises, LLC f/k/a House of Cheatham, Inc.' s ("Beauty Bell") motion to dismiss Plaintiff Nathan Deliotte, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Gloria Deliotte' s, ("Plaintiff") Second Amended Complaint is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

Gloria Deliotte ("Decedent") frequently used hair relaxers allegedly produced, manufactured, and sold by the numerous Defendants. These products allegedly caused her uterine/endometrial cancer. Plaintiff alleges Defendants' products contained numerous endocrine- disrupting chemicals which when applied to the scalp greatly increased the risk of developing

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gynecological cancer, and that Defendants failed to warn consumers about these chemical ingredients. Plaintiff sues Defendants for damages related to Decedent's cancer based on numerous theories of liability. Beauty Bell moves to dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint, and Plaintiff opposes.

II. Discussion

A. Personal Jurisdiction

Beauty Bell's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction is denied. A plaintiff bears the ultimate burden of proof on the issue of personal jurisdiction since they are the party seeking to assert it over a defendant. However, courts do not require the plaintiff to make a prima facie showing of personal jurisdiction, but only to demonstrate that facts "may exist" to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant (see CPLR 321 l[d]; American BankNote Corp. v. Daniele, 45 AD3d 338, 340 [1st Dept 2007]). General jurisdiction over a corporate defendant may be exercised where the corporation is incorporated and maintains its principal place of business (Aybar v Aybar, 37 NY3d 274,289 [2021]).

Pursuant to CPLR 302(a)(l), a New York Court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nondomiciliary if the nondomiciliary has purposefully transacted business within the state and there is "a substantial relationship between the transaction and the claim asserted" (Coast to Coast Energy, Inc. v Gasarch, 149 AD3d 485 [1st Dept 2017] quoting Paterno v Laser Spine Ins., 24 NY3d 370,376 [2014]). A court must engage in a two-prong inquiry to determine (1) whether the defendant transacts any business in New York and, if so, (2) whether the cause of action arises from such a business transaction (Wilson v Danta, 128 AD3d 176 [1st Dept 2015]). A plaintiff does not need to have been involved in the transaction; rather, a plaintiff need only demonstrate that, considering all the circumstances, there is an articulable nexus or substantial relationship between the business transaction and the claim asserted (D & R global Selections, S.L. v Bodega

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Olegario Falcon Pineiro, 29 NY3d 292, 298-299; English v Avon Products, Inc., 206 AD3d 404 [1st Dept 2022]).

Plaintiff alleges that Decedent was a resident of the State of New York and used Beauty Bell's House of Cheatham products while she was in New York. She alleges she was ultimately injured by using those products, specifically products from House of Cheatham's Africa's Best Originals Olive Oil Conditioning Relaxer, which was distributed and sold to stores located in Brooklyn, New York (see NYSCEF Doc. 104 at ~ 103). This is sufficient to establish specific jurisdiction at the pleading stage, especially because Beauty Bell has failed to come forward with any affirmative evidence that it did not manufacture or design the allegedly dangerous products at the time of Plaintiffs use, nor has it established that it did not distribute any products in New Yark at the time of Plaintiff's alleged use.

B. Preemption

Beauty Bell's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's fifth through fifteenth causes of action based on express preemption is denied. Defendants argue Plaintiffs claims are expressly preempted by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ("FDCA"), 21 U.S.C. §301. Express preemption applies only where the plain language of a statute supersedes state law (Doomes v Best Transit Corp., 17 NY3d 594,601 (2011]). As held by the United States Supreme Court, there is a presumption against pre- emption, and pre-emption clauses are to be narrowly construed (Cipollone v Liggett Group, Inc. 505 U.S. 504, 505 [1992]; see also Galper v JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA., 802 F3d 437, 448 [2d Cir 2015]). The specific language which Beauty argues preempts many of Plaintiffs causes of action is found in 21 U.S.C. § 379s(a).

That provision provides:

"Except as provided in subsection (b), (d), or (e), no State or political subdivision of a State may establish or continue in effect any requirement for labeling or

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packaging of a cosmetic that is different from or in addition to, or that is otherwise not identical with, a requirement specifically applicable to a particular cosmetic or class of cosmetics under this chapter, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (15 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.)."

The exception to the preemption clause found at 21 U.S.C. § 379s(d) provides:

"Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or otherwise affect any action or the liability of any person under the product liability law of any State."

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Deliotte v. L'Oreal USA, Inc., 2025 NY Slip Op 32773(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2025).

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