CeraVe Lawsuit: The Benzene Case Was Dismissed — What Is Still Pending
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The CeraVe lawsuit most people are searching for — six class actions claiming that L'Oréal benzoyl peroxide acne products, including CeraVe's acne cleansers and La Roche-Posay products, can contain benzene — was dismissed with prejudice on September 15, 2026 by a federal judge in Manhattan. There is no settlement, no claim form and no CeraVe benzene recall. One separate case is still open: a California suit filed July 9, 2026 that says CeraVe baby creams cost more than the matching adult creams. Nobody is owed money from either case today.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Benzene Lawsuits Said Happened
In March 2024 the testing lab Valisure petitioned the FDA, reporting that benzoyl peroxide (BPO) — the active ingredient in many acne products — can break down into benzene, a known carcinogen, at elevated temperatures. Valisure incubated 66 BPO products at 50°C for 18 days. According to the complaints, CeraVe's 4% BPO cream showed benzene from 5 ppm to over 12 ppm in that test, above the 2 ppm level FDA guidance tells drug makers not to exceed.
The CeraVe products named were CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser (4% BPO) and CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Wash (10% BPO). The lawsuits alleged that L'Oréal USA, which owns CeraVe, sold them without listing benzene or warning that it could form, and that buyers would not have purchased them had they known. These were purchase-price cases, not cancer cases: the Louisiana complaint, for example, expressly excluded anyone alleging bodily injury. L'Oréal disputed the claims, and no court ever found that CeraVe products were contaminated.
Case Details
1. The benzene class actions (dismissed). Six cases were filed in 2024: Snow v. L'Oréal USA, No. 1:24-cv-00110, and Painter v. L'Oréal USA, No. 1:24-cv-00512 (D. Hawaii; Painter began in Missouri as No. 6:24-cv-03077); Grossenbacher v. L'Oréal USA, No. 2:24-cv-00663 (E.D. La.); and Noakes, No. 1:24-cv-02735, Abednego, No. 1:24-cv-03998, and O'Dea, No. 1:24-cv-08352 (S.D.N.Y.). The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation refused to create an MDL on February 7, 2025 (MDL No. 3141). On April 23, 2025 the Hawaii court sent the Snow case to New York, and the cases were consolidated before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New York under No. 1:24-cv-02735.
2. The baby-cream case (pending). Raymundo v. L'Oreal USA S/D Inc., No. 3:26-cv-03951-RBM-DEB, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, filed July 9, 2026. It pleads California's Unfair Competition Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act and False Advertising Law. It has nothing to do with benzene.
Status: Benzene Case Dismissed, Baby-Cream Case Open
Baby-cream case — open, early stage. We found no ruling and no settlement reported as of September 30, 2026. Neither case has a settlement, a fund, an administrator, a claim form or a deadline.
Who Was Covered
Benzene cases: the proposed classes were people who bought L'Oréal benzoyl peroxide acne products for personal use (in the Louisiana case, CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser or Acne Foaming Cream Wash), grouped by state (Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri and others). No class was ever certified, and after the dismissal there is nothing to join. If an appeal succeeded, the case would go back to the trial court — it would not create a payout by itself.
Baby-cream case: the proposed class is California consumers who bought CeraVe Baby Healing Ointment or CeraVe Baby Eczema Cream for personal use within the last four years. You do not sign up for a class action; if a class is certified or a settlement is reached, a court-approved notice tells class members what to do. Keep receipts or order history for CeraVe baby products if you have them.
Is Anyone Getting Paid?
The baby-cream suit seeks more than $5 million in total, based on the claim that the baby versions cost about 20% to 30% more per ounce — the complaint's example is CeraVe Baby Eczema Cream at $2.80 per ounce against $2.25 for the standard cream on cerave.com. If a case like this ever settles, the per-person amount is usually a partial refund of that price difference. For comparison, an earlier benzene consumer case that did pay out, over P&G aerosol sprays, returned a few dollars per product — see our Old Spice lawsuit page.
CeraVe Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
March 2024 — Valisure Report, First Lawsuits
Valisure petitions the FDA over benzene in benzoyl peroxide products. Snow is filed in Hawaii on March 8; Grossenbacher follows in Louisiana on March 15, naming CeraVe's two acne cleansers.
- 2
August 2024 to February 2025 — No MDL
The JPML declines an industry-wide benzoyl peroxide MDL on August 1, 2024, then refuses a L'Oréal-only MDL (No. 3141) on February 7, 2025.
- 3
March 11, 2025 — The FDA's Own Tests
The FDA tests 95 benzoyl peroxide acne products: more than 90% show undetectable or extremely low benzene. Six products are recalled at the retail level, none of them CeraVe.
- 4
April 23, 2025 — All Cases in Manhattan
A Hawaii judge transfers the Snow case to the Southern District of New York, where five related cases are already pending. They are consolidated before Judge Analisa Torres.
- 5
July 9, 2026 — Baby-Cream Suit Filed
Raymundo v. L'Oreal USA S/D Inc. (S.D. Cal.) claims CeraVe baby creams are materially identical to the adult versions but cost more.
- 6
September 15, 2026 — Benzene Case Dismissed
Judge Torres dismisses the consolidated benzene case with prejudice on federal preemption grounds. No settlement, no payout.
Three Things to Watch For
A viral lawsuit with no settlement behind it is exactly the gap imposters fill:
“Claim your CeraVe settlement” pages
There is no CeraVe settlement and no claims administrator. A site that asks for your address, date of birth or card number to “secure your payout” is collecting data, not filing a claim.
“CeraVe cancer compensation” ads
The benzene class actions were refund cases that excluded injury claims, and they were dismissed. They offer no compensation for illness. If you are worried about your health, see a doctor first; if you talk to a lawyer, read any retainer before you sign it.
“CeraVe recall refund” messages
No CeraVe acne product was recalled for benzene. The 2025 recall involved another L'Oréal brand, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, plus other companies' products. A text or email promising a CeraVe recall refund did not come from the FDA.
CeraVe Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a CeraVe lawsuit right now?
Two cases are behind the headlines. The benzene class actions over CeraVe Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser and Acne Foaming Cream Wash were consolidated in New York and dismissed with prejudice on September 15, 2026. A separate California case over the price of CeraVe baby creams, filed July 9, 2026, is pending. Posts that circulated in 2026 describe the benzene suits filed in 2024.
Why was the CeraVe benzene lawsuit dismissed?
Federal preemption. Acne treatments with benzoyl peroxide are over-the-counter drugs whose labels are governed by federal law. Judge Torres held that the state-law claims would require warnings beyond what federal rules require, and, as the ruling was reported, that the 2 ppm benzene figure the plaintiffs relied on comes from nonbinding FDA guidance. The ruling did not find that the products were safe or unsafe.
Was CeraVe recalled for benzene?
No. The FDA's March 11, 2025 announcement listed six recalled products, none from CeraVe. In the FDA's drug recall database (openFDA enforcement reports, checked September 30, 2026), the only CeraVe-branded recall is one 2018 lot of CeraVe Healing Lip Balm SPF 30, pulled for microbial contamination and closed in 2021. L'Oréal did recall La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, a different brand, in 2025.
Should I stop using CeraVe acne cleanser?
That is a question for you and your doctor or pharmacist, not a court. The FDA's 2025 benzoyl peroxide recalls were conducted at the retail level, not the consumer level, and none involved CeraVe. The FDA wrote that “even with daily use of these products for decades, the risk of a person developing cancer because of exposure to benzene found in these products is very low.”
Can I get money from the CeraVe lawsuit?
Not today. There is no settlement, fund or claim form in either case. The benzene cases were dismissed. The baby-cream case is at an early stage and covers only California buyers as proposed. To see settlements you can actually claim, check our open class action settlements list.
What is the CeraVe baby cream lawsuit about?
The plaintiff says CeraVe Baby Healing Ointment and CeraVe Baby Eczema Cream are materially identical to CeraVe's standard creams but cost about 20% to 30% more per ounce. It is a pricing and labeling claim under California consumer law, not a safety claim. A parallel suit makes the same argument against Eucerin's baby eczema cream.
Did the FDA test CeraVe products?
The FDA has not published the full list of the 95 products it tested, so we cannot say. It reported that its results showed fewer contaminated products than the third-party findings, and it said it intends to publish full results in peer-reviewed journals.
Can the benzene case come back?
Only through an appeal. A dismissal with prejudice closes the case in the trial court; the plaintiffs could ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse it. We could not confirm an appeal as of September 30, 2026. Even a successful appeal would restart the lawsuit, not produce a payment.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.