Elizabeth M. Chiarello

• Obtained a complete dismissal in a putative class action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of a nationwide class of sunscreen purchasers. The plaintiffs alleged that the product was deceptively marketed as hypoallergenic and free of oxybenzone because it contained an alleged contaminant, benzophenone, which results from degradation of an FDA-approved active ingredient, octocrylene. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants should have both changed their product labeling to warn of the risk of degradation and altered their manufacturing processes to remove the FDA-approved ingredient from the product’s formulation. The court granted Sidley’s motion to dismiss in full.
• Defeated a putative class action alleging improper product classification under the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA), in which the court awarded Beth’s client summary judgment. The plaintiff alleged that the product at issue was improperly classified under the FDCA. The United States District Court for the South District of California held that this claim was preempted. Plaintiffs appealed and the award of summary judgment in Beth’s client’s favor was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit.
• Multiple putative class actions alleging that aloe vera gels sold by some of the nation’s largest retailers do not contain detectable aloe vera. Beth secured summary judgment for her client. Plaintiffs appealed and Beth successfully argued the case in front of a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which affirmed the favorable lower court ruling.
• Ongoing toxic tort litigation in the Circuit Court of Cook County against a contract sterilizer of medical devices, in which the plaintiffs claim that exposure to a chemical used by the sterilizer led them to develop cancer and other injuries.
• A pharmaceutical company in personal injury and class action litigation alleging that fertility medication manufactured by the company was subpotent because the company conducted a Class III recall. Beth won several victories on behalf of the client, including the remand and dismissal of a case from federal court and summary judgment and exclusion of adverse experts in another case.
• Wrongful death litigation involving the clinical study of the effectiveness of intromyocardial stem cell injections using cutting edge intromyocardial injection and mapping catheters.
• A roofing shingle manufacturer in putative class action litigation alleging that, over the course of nearly 30 years, the company sold millions of defective roof shingles and misrepresented the shingles’ expected useful life. After eight years of litigation, the court denied certification of a class of shingle purchasers in a 185-page opinion, siding with the manufacturer on each of its arguments under Rule 23. The Third Circuit affirmed the decision denying class certification and denying Plaintiffs’ counsel the award of attorneys’ fees for which they petitioned.
• Multiple putative consumer fraud class actions alleging that probiotics were falsely labeled and advertised. Over multiple lawsuits spanning a five-year period, separate courts granted summary judgment in Beth’s client’s favor in the various sets of cases.
• An oil refinery in multiple personal injury and class action lawsuits following an explosion and ensuing fire in Superior, Wisconsin.

Beth maintains an active pro bono practice. She briefed and argued a successful appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (3-0 decision), in which the Seventh Circuit vacated and reversed her client’s conviction, after an extensive trial for multiple bank robberies and 50-year sentence, resulting in a new trial. She also handled several immigration matters, including obtaining asylum for a young El Salvadoran man after a lengthy, contested merits hearing that included testimony from fact and multiple expert witnesses. Beth has acted as trial counsel for two inmates in separate and unrelated cases brought pursuant to § 1983 for excessive use of force and failure to provide adequate medical care, settling several cases for favorable amounts and trying another case to a jury that found in favor of her client. Beth is also a board member of the Center for Conflicts Resolution, an independent, not-for-profit organization with a mission to work with individuals, communities, courts and other institutions to manage and resolve conflict.