Content area
Full Text
Officials at Metabolife International Inc., the mega-successful diet supplement manufacturer, expect retail sales will continue to rise this year despite recent assaults from different fronts.
Earlier this month, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the company by a former consumer alleging its diet supplement is not safe.
In a suit filed Aug. 3 in San Diego Superior Court, lawyers for plaintiff Yolanda Perez charge that San Diego-based Metabolife failed to warn people about potential health risks resulting from ephedrine, an ingredient of the company's Metabolife 356 diet product.
"Anybody can file a lawsuit; that doesn't mean the lawsuit has any merit," said Tony Knight, a spokesman for Metabolife. "We haven't seen evidence of a health problem with our product."
The lawsuit comes at a time when Metabolife is considering suing the Washington Post over a story published in May about Metabolife and its president, Michael J. Ellis.
Knight said he believed Metabolife was demanding a retraction from the Post, usually the first step toward filing a libel suit.
Meanwhile, Copley Press, parent company of the San Diego...