- Summary- Companies- Law firms- Related documents- Homeopathic remedies don’t belong in medicine aisle, Center for Inquiry says- D.C.’s top court revives claims under consumer protection law(Reuters) - The District of Columbia’s highest court revived two lawsuits that claim CVS and Walmart are misleading consumers by selling unproven homeopathic products alongside FDA-approved over-the-counter medicines on their store shelves and websites.The District of Columbia Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed lower-court rulings against the nonprofit Center for Inquiry (CFI), which alleged that CVS Pharmacy and Walmart are violating Washington, D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act by implying that homeopathic remedies and scientifically proven medicine are equally effective alternatives.And, while CFI may need more evidence to prove its case on remand, “at this juncture, we cannot say that (its allegation) is implausible,” Senior Appeals Judge Phyllis Thompson wrote for the panel.“Our goal is to ensure that all retailers stop this misrepresentation.”Thursday’s decision also establishes that CFI has standing to sue under D.C.’s law, which expressly authorizes suit by a “nonprofit organization … organized and operating, in whole or in part, for the purpose of promoting interests or rights of consumers.”The lower courts found CFI did not meet that description, since it was suing on behalf of the “general population” in order to “foster a society free of … pseudoscience.”The Court of Appeals, however, said the two goals were not inconsistent, and that CFI “at least in part, is both organized and operates to promote the interests of those who would be consumers of ‘ineffective’ homeopathic products.”The consolidated cases are Center for Inquiry Inc. v. Walmart Inc. and CVS Pharmacy Inc., D.C. Court of Appeals, Nos.For Center for Inquiry: Nicholas Little of CFIFor Walmart: Christina Sarchio of Dechert; Matthew Kirtland, Jeffrey Margulies, and Katherine Connolly of Norton Rose FulbrightFor CVS Pharmacy: Jeanne Gills and Lauren Champaign of Foley & LardnerRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles."