An Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday that thousands of lawsuits against major beauty companies that sold chemical hair relaxers that could cause cancer has enough merit to move forward, according to court documents.
Companies including Revlon and L’Oréal, which owns the Chicago-based SoftSheen-Carson brand, had filed a motion to dismiss the claims. But U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland largely rejected their arguments, allowing a majority of the counts — 12 out of 15 — to move forward such as counts of negligence, design defect and failure to warn customers of the risks, court documents show.
