The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has joined nine other district attorney’s offices throughout the state to settle with the maker of “My Pillow” in a dispute over scientifically unfounded claims of the benefits of the company’s bedding products, officials announced Monday.
The makers of My Pillow agreed to pay $995,000 in civil penalties and make $100,000 in donations to nonprofit organizations that support the homeless or victims of domestic violence.
The lawsuit alleged that My Pillow manufacturers falsely represented that the cushion could lessen the effects of fibromyalgia, insomnia, migraines, temporomandibular joint disorders and restless leg syndrome without having any scientific evidence to support the claims, prosecutors said.
The company was also accused of advertising itself as the official pillow of the National Sleep Foundation without disclosing it had a financial relationship with the organization.
My Pillow’s inventor and chief executive, Mike Lindell, said the settlement allows the company to “avoid a costly and drawn-out court case and turn our attention back to our number one passion, our customers.”
Lindell said he was pleased the “restitution in this case includes giving back, which is a central part of the mission of MyPillow.”
The other counties involved in the lawsuit were Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano and Sonoma.
—City News Service