In the wake of the New York Attorney General’s regulatory action earlier this year, herbal product retailers now face a whirlwind of class action lawsuits.

According to a report in Natural Products Industry Insider, an industry trade publication, Chicago-based federal judge John Darrah will oversee 35 class-action suits filed against Walgreen, Wal-Mart, GNC, and Target–the four retailers that were originally targeted by NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly selling fraudulent and mislabeled store-brand herbal supplements.

Though the validity AG’s DNA analytics have been seriously challenged, and his office has already rescinded its cease-and-desist order against GNC, the move last February put a lot of blood in the water for hungry attorneys and plaintiffs claiming that the retailers’ allegedly false and misleading marketing efforts caused serious harm.

Earlier this summer, the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated 35 such lawsuits  filed in 10 states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio and Oregon. There are also 30 additional legal actions  potentially related to these litigations.

According to GNC spokeswoman, Laura Brophy, 8 lawsuits initially brought against GNC were voluntarily dismissed following the company’s agreement with the New York AG.

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