WILLIAMSON – A Mingo County attorney and former state lawmaker has filed a lawsuit seeking $25,000 after he says Old Spice deodorant caused severe burns, irritation and rashes on his armpits.
Justin Marcum filed the complaint earlier this month in Mingo Circuit Court against The Procter and Gamble Manufacturing Company, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Procter & Gamble sells and markets Old Spice.
Marcum is an attorney with Next Step Legal in Williamson. He is a former member of the House of Delegates who also ran for state Senate
Marcum
“That stuff really caused severe chemical burns,” Marcum told The West Virginia Record. “I have permanent scarring from it still. I was on fire. It was horrible. It was a tough experience.
“The reason I moved forward with filing was because they continue to market and sell the same product.”
Marcum said there have been thousands of similar lawsuits filed in recent years.
“There have even been some class actions that were tried, but the judge said everybody’s damages were different,” Marcum said. “I’ve never had that problem with any other deodorant. Then, I saw so many other people have had this issue. It’s still being sold and marketed.”
According to his complaint, Marcum purchased Old Spice Fiji with Palm Tree deodorant on June 15 and began using it. Three days later, he says he noticed painful burns, armpit irritation and rashes in the same location where he used the deodorant. He also says skin is “peeling off in chunks” from the brief use of the deodorant.
Marcum sought medical treatment for the injuries, incurring medical bills. He was prescribed two medications to treat the burns. He says he also suffered extreme pain and suffering as well as extreme nuisance and aggravation.
He says Procter & Gamble knew or should have known of the potential risks associated with using the product. He says the company also knew of the skin problems associated with the product as early as 2016, but it continued to market and sell it.
Marcum accuses the company of manufacturing defect or construction, negligence, breach of warranty – implied warranty of merchantability, breach of warranty – implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose and failure to warn.
In the complaint, Marcum stipulates that so long as the case remains in circuit court he neither will seek nor accept more than $25,000 in the case, including attorney fees but excluding interest and costs.
Marcum is representing himself. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Miki Thompson.
Last year, Marcum was sued after a man was injured when a porch railing broke at a building he owned. Marcum denied the allegations and sought to have the case dismissed. It still is pending in Mingo Circuit Court.
In 2018, a woman claimed Marcum and others committed professional conduct violations in an attempt to defraud her regarding her mobile home that was destroyed by fire. That case was settled and dismissed with prejudice.
Mingo Circuit Court case number 21-C-71